Expiry Date
by doki-dokiboo
Summary: Her place was not for rent and neither were their hearts yet they both decided to love each other for a year. It's not lying if she knows, even if she doesn't know it all... Mama always said: "Beware of wolfoolish men, creepy neighbours and bad friends. Good things come and go but bad always stays." SXS -AU-
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Sakura or her friends, they are the property of CLAMP, I just own the story :)

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**Expiry Date**

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**Chapter One**

**Dating in the Dark**

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_-"What is wrong with me? Here he is, infront of me, a perfectly beautiful specimen of a man and all I can do is wonder if I let the cat in today... Ugh! Mom was right, I -will- die like one of those old ladies that has way too many cats... When I die, it will take a whole three months for someone to notice and by that time Kero would have already devoured half of my body. That damn greedy cat, I should have never taken in a stray! No good deed goes unpunished... But just look at those beautiful honey brown eyes, his hands are so manly and he has the most devilish, sweetest smile... What was I doing thinking of that ungrateful cat? I just hope he has the decency to leave my face untouched when that day comes. Not that it matters, there's no one coming to my funeral anyways. Touya? Naah, Touya won't even travel one station down to visit his one and only sister while she is still alive, let alone once she's dead, half-chewed and penniless... I should move out, it's the house... It must be the house, it might be cursed... Ever since my parents passed away, none of my dates have gone well. Pay attention, he's talking to you! By the way, how much -can- he talk about himself? God! This is the reason why I told Tomoyo that I did not want to meet her boyfriend's friends... So what if they are getting married? Who said that the bride's maid of honour had to get along with the groom's best man? Damn that Eriol, he is going to pay dearly for this one... First he steals my tenant away and as if getting her out of my house wasn't bad enough, he goes and kicks -me- out of her heart too. And that is not all, no, no, Mr. Heartless grows a guilty conscience so now he tries to switch one of his self centered, obnoxious friends for my precious, kind hearted Tomoyo... Eriol is the worst! Just like a sneaky, greedy cat! So many years of friendship and this is how he repays me; He comes from England and forces me to take him in for a month. A WHOLE MONTH! I can't believe I was even happy to see him once again! And just as soon as he lays his eyes on my precious, he steals her away?! What kind of human being does that to a childhood friend?_

-"Is there something bothering you?" Asked Syaoran Lee looking at her with worry. He had been trying to get her attention for half an hour now.

-"Eriol can just die! I'm going to get Tomoyo back, It's pay-back time!" Yelled Sakura completely forgeting where and with whom she was.

-"Wow! Great enthusiasm, bad timing." Laughed Syaoran. When Eriol had first asked him to go on this blind date, his first reaction had been to utterly destroy all hopes of it ever taking place but Eriol could be very persuasive. Actually, that was Eriol's only quality, it was the reason he was getting married... Syaoran didn't know if he was sorry he had agreed to meet Sakura or not but at least she wasn't unhumanly ugly like he had imagined she would be when Eriol had told him all about her beautiful personality. In fact, she was exactly his type: Deep green eyes, sunny-light auburn hair, great fashion sense yet not over the top, natural makeup and he could tell she was naturally fit. Yet, the great personality was nowhere to be seen, unless Eriol had been talking about another kind of personality 'cause -that- she had... _"Get your head out of the gutter"_ He thought to himself. It didn't matter what she looked like, he wasn't there for romance, he was looking for a place to rent. His boss had transferred him to the Japan's branch without warning; since he was her [the boss] only _son_, she could allowed herself to move him like a pawn on a chess board... He had never seen the house but Eriol always spoke wonders about it and Syaoran was desperate to find a cheaper and cozier place than his hotel's room. So, despite his aversion for blind dates, he had agreed to meet Sakura solely for the purpose of finding a landlady.

For the first thirty minutes he had tried in vain to win her over with his charming smile and his outstanding academic achievements but Sakura was so deep in thought that he wouldn't have had more success by hopping on one foot while tapping his head with one hand and rubbing his stomach with the other. Now, looking at Sakura resume her seat with a beautiful shade of pink over her cheeks, Syaoran was more convinced than ever that he had found his home for what would be the next twelve months more or less.

-"The wedding is in less than a month." Syaoran reminded her.

-"I know." Sighed Sakura with sorrow.

-"You really are mad at him, Eriol I mean." Observed Syaoran with amusement. Eriol had begged him for three straight days to meet the woman sitting across from him, all because Sakura had unfriended him on Facebook... If he had just showed him her picture, he wouldn't have had to plead so much.

-"No..." Confesed Sakura. "I'm just being selfish, Tomo is like a sister to me and Eriol is... Eriol is a stray cat. Yeah, that's what he is: Eriol is a sneaky, greedy, ungrateful stray cat. This is what I get for picking him up when we were five, that sneaky bastard! With his freakishly bluish black hair and weird accent, I should have just bullied him like everyone else did..." Complained Sakura finishing with a sigh of resignation. "I -am- happy for them, at least happy for Tomoyo... It's the first time I've seen her so in love with a good guy but now that she is gone..."

-"I'm guessing you need a new tenant." Finished Syaoran knowing full well of her financial situation. Her parents had passed away leaving all the house expenses to her, her older brother had a family of his own and could not help her pay any of the debts that came with the house so Sakura had had to balance a great number of jobs with her classes at the University. Even then, it hadn't been enough and she had ended up renting part of her parents' house.

-"No." Answered Sakura without even noticing the surprised look on her date's face. "I just offered Tomoyo a place to stay 'cause she's my best friend and she didn't have anywhere else to go."

-"What about Eriol? Don't you always...?"

-"Eriol?" Asked the young woman with indignation. "He is the only one that has to pay to stay 'cause if not, I might never get rid of him. On the first place, the only reason why I let him visit is because the last time I refused, he drowned my inbox with emails saying _'please'_. It took me over a month to sort it all out..." Remembered Sakura out loud with a furrowed brow. Syaoran smiled with pity, that was the Eriol that he knew... "And everytime he comes, all he does is pick fights with my neighbour accross the street, as if I didn't have enough problems without him causing more."

-"So, you are not taking another tenant?"

-"I just don't want strangers in my house but I feel lonely without Tomoyo." Explained Sakura.

-"I-I guess..." Said Syaoran trying to think of a way to make her change her mind, it didn't seem like an easy task. "Well, you are right, it is very dangerous to take up strangers nowadays, especially for someone as beautiful as you." He decided to sweet talk her first but was surprised to see her face turn a perfect shade of cherry pink. Syaoran was intrigued, he hadn't lied; she was beautiful but surely she had heard it a million times over. How could she still blush at a compliment that even him found ordinary?

-"A-And are you here just for the wedding? Y-You must be really good friends with Eriol... hahaha Eriol never talks much about his other friends." Continue Sakura pretending she hadn't heard what he said, she was way too embarrassed to even thank him.

-"No, I mean, Eriol is my cousin and we are close but the real reason I'm here is work. Actually, I had not seen Eriol -live- for six years before I received his wedding invite." Confesed Syaoran.

-"Six years?!" Exclaimed Sakura."What is your secret?" She joked and both of them laughed at their friend's expense.

-"I live in China and Eriol in England and we both have a demanding work or should I say an overly demanding boss... Though, I guess if he really wanted to, he would have visited from time to time but Eriol is terrified of my mother. We keep in touch though, he talks a lot about you and the house."

-"And I suppose he sent you here today to try and convinced me to befriend him on fb again..." Sighed Sakura.

-"There was that." Smiled Syaoran with a hint of mischief.

-"What else was there?" Asked the young woman, her alluring emerald eyes opening in surprise.

-"I won't quote him 'cause he will kill me if I do and just thinking about it makes me want to hit him again but all in all, he thought that we could both use some loving." Explained Syaoran.

-"Ugh that is just like what Tomo said. Their kids are going to be such a pain in the x..." Laughed Sakura. "And why did you agree to come?"

-"Why did you?"

-"Tomoyo forced me to." Admited Sakura with yet another sigh. "She said that if I didn't show, _she_ would be the one unfriending me on fb... Not that I really care about fb, I only unfriended Eriol cause I know -he- cares." While she spoke, a mischievous smile spread over her sweet rosy lips. Syaoran looked at her with amusement, so she had a naughty side to her too. "But Tommy is my best friend, for her to threathen me like that... I'm sure Eriol had something to do with it..."

-"Eriol is capable of anything and everything." Agreed Syaoran, He knew full well that his cousin was capable of anything to get what he wanted but he was never cruel so eventually everyone forgave him. "Well, I agreed because he followed me everywhere for three whole days and when I say everywhere, I mean Eriol randomly bursting into my bathroom without warning holding a camera on his hands..." Confessed Syaoran making his date laugh. Her laugh was so addictive to him... "I'm glad he convinced me to come though, and I rarely am when it comes to doing Eriol a favor." Said Syaoran and he was pleased to see her blush again, so he was getting accross to her.

-"Then I am too." She smiled sweetly at him. "But I'm still not befriending him on fb again cause if I do he'll keep thinking that he can get away with anything."

-"That's fine, it's good for him to learn boundaries." Agreed Syaoran. Strangely enough, he felt as if they were discussing their child's upbringing instead of his cousin's terrible habits. "Speaking of boundaries, I could use your insight for Eriol's bachelor party. I haven't the slightlest idea of what I should do, he isn't the type to party hard to begin with."

-"Do not take him to a boobs buffet." Threathen Sakura.

-"A what?" Laughed Syaoran.

-"You know a boob feast? no?" She said while putting her hands around her breast sugestively and one second later realizing where she was and what she was doing, she blushed furiously and tried to hide from the dignified, scathing looks that came from the other clients of the restaurant. This only made Syaoran laughed harder.

-"I promise I won't, he probably won't like that anyways. He is not a great drinker either so no chance of getting him drunk. Where are you taking Tomoyo for her bachelorette?"

-"Well, it's fairly simple. We are getting together with some girlfriends from Uni, you know, to do girl's stuff: Paint nails, give gifts, _dance in underwear_." Joked Sakura.

-"Can I come?" Joked Syaoran back.

-"No boys allowed! Then we are going to a karaoke place to get a little dizzy and sing our lungs out, we'll probably stay there all night or go dancing if we get bored. Then we'll head back to my place and watch a movie if we are not too tired."

-"Yeah... I just don't see myself singing love songs with Eriol." Sighed dramatically Syaoran making her laugh again.

-"What do you guys normally do when you go out?"

-"We don't go out and I am not about to take my cousin slow dancing." Joked Syaoran.

-"Be serious, poor Eriol will never be single again after that night." Said Sakura failing to be serious herself.

-"He was never much of a single guy ever. We have partied before, I guess. But when we each went our own way, things changed. I can still go out for a drink but he rather stays home and reads."

-"Well, he is ready for marriage." Smiled Sakura.

-"I don't believe marriage would be so boring." Replied Syaoran looking her in the eyes. "I'm sure you would still ditch the kids once in a while and take me dancing." He joked, he just couldn't get enough of her rosy cheeks.

-"I never said I would marry you." She answered wittingly despite her burning cheeks.

-"Ouch! Turned down before I even ask. You my lady are a first."

-"Why, thank you sir. Then why don't you guys just do something simple? Get together with friends and do whatever it is boys do when they get together."

-"Usually we just get rowdy and play games." Laughed Syaoran. "Ha! that doesn't sound so bad... It would do Eriol some good to do some sport."

-"There you go, take Eriol for a walk." Said Sakura amused by the easy way in which he had decided what to do. She had thought about it for days before deciding on an activity; knowing her friend would only be grossed out by unknown men rubbing themselves onto her, she had easily taken strippers out of the list yet any other ideas seemed too everyday-ish... As opposed to Eriol, Tomoyo did like to party. When they had lived together, saturdays usually started with a hangover and oaths to never do it again yet every friday night when their phone rang -a friend asking them out, they were already half way though applying makeup... In the end she had chosen something she knew Tomoyo would enjoy: Singing. They had never gone karaoke before cause it was too damn expensive but what the hell! It was her BFF's last single-ladies-night-out so she had gone into full tyrant mode and had pushed all the other bride's maids to pitch in on the funds, it wasn't fair for her to pay for their fun too. After all, the only one that matter was Tomo.

-"Do you want to go somewhere else after? It's still too early to go home." Proposed Syaoran. Sakura hesitated, she was having fun but going somewhere else meant spending money she didn't have. "Eriol's paying." Chimed in Syaoran sensing his date's hesitation. "Come on, you did say you were gonna make him pay, right? Let this be the occasion."

-"ooh...mmmm... fine, ok. I'm in, where are we going?" Asked Sakura deciding on a whim. It had been so long since she had allowed herself to have fun without checking her bank account first, Syaoran did know how to bend one's resolutions... _"Guess it runs in the family." _Thought Sakura and her heart thumbed when he smiled at her in victory.

It was the most fun she had had on a date in a long, long time. He was clever, charming and funny... _"How did he ever end up on Eriol's family tree?" _She kept asking herself. _"Well, they are both stubborn men_." She resumed her thinking while he took her by the waist and changed sides with her so that she would be on the safe side of the skating ring, away from the other careless skaters. She blushed and was glad it was cold outside so that her flushed cheeks covered her embarrassment.

-"Are you cold? Maybe an outside skating ring wasn't such a good idea on this weather." He apologized.

-"N-No, I really like it. I used to come here often with my parents and my brother as a kid.'

-"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to remind you..."

-"it's fine, it's been four years, you know?" She smiled but he could tell she was not being completely honest.

-"Should we go warm up somewhere inside? I am not as used as you are to this kind of winter." He half lied. It was true that he wasn't so thrilled about the cold weather but he had been having too much fun to even notice how cold his hands and face really were. However, he had had time to notice how red her nose was and it wasn't so much fun if he couldn't see the blush underneath her flushed skin.

-"Do we have too?" She complained cutely.

-"It's getting late and your nose is shining red, Rudolf." He poke fun at her and without thinking he leaned in and kiss her nose. She pull back and she almost fell on the ice, she managed to hold onto him and they both held each others arms to stay in balance. They stayed frozen for a minute, neither of them knew what had happened. He hadn't planned that, he hadn't planned anything, which was very unlike him.

-"Y-You are right. We should- probably go." Sakura was the one to break the silence. "The ice is getting slippery."

-"Y-yeah, let's go, I'll take you home."

-"That's not necess-..."

-"Come on, I've already made you stand on the cold for too long for one night, I'm not gonna let you wait for a bus too." He insisted and she gave in to his plead.

_"This family has dangerous powers."_ Thought Sakura while Syaoran opened the passenger's car door for her.

They relaxed on the way home, forgetting all about the kiss and the nose, they listened to the radio making comments about the songs and artists as if they actually cared. Sakura was still trying to slow down her heartbeat and Syaoran was conscious that he had stepped on a dangerous line, he was losing focus. _"The house, this is all about the house. She is just my futur landlady."_ He kept repeating to himself but when they finally got to her place, he could not stop himself from walking her to her door.

-"W-Well, good night." Said Sakura turning around to see him. "Don't tell Eriol but I had lots of fun."

-"Yeah, me too. Er... Good night."

-"Yeah, good night." They both hesitated on the door steps, she finally reached for a kiss on the cheek but caught the corner of his mouth instead. "Eeek, sorry I-..." Syaoran leaned in again and closed her mouth with his own. He hadn't planned that either. The kiss was getting out of control.

-"S-Syaoran..."She called between kisses and he push her against the front door with his own body, trapping her in his arms. "Syaor-... want to come in?" She asked trying to catch her breath.

They stopped and looked deep into each other's eyes...

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	2. Chapter 2

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**Chapter Two**

**Kissing in the Dark**

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He had done it, he was inside the house but it did not happen in the way he had thought it would. She was the only one who could twist his plans in such a way, he could not win against her. At least, not when she was kissing him so passionately. They took out their coats, letting them drop to the floor, still kissing without even bothering to turn the lights on. They were laughing like kids while advancing towards the living room. Sakura fell on the couch with one of her boots still on, trying to stop Syaoran long enough to take it off but he wasn't making it an easy task, crawling on top of her.

-"Are you sure about this?" Whispered Syaoran when they both stop to catch their breath. He was still pinning her to the couch and she felt each of his breaths as if they were her own.

-"Why are you whispering?" She whispered back pulling herself from the couch to close the gap between their lips. "Is just the two of us here, you know?"

He took her boot off and then locking her eyes with his own, he started kissing her again. This time he didn't hesitate to go farther, feeling the warmth of her skin underneath her nylon tights. Her legs twisted around his hips and he pushed, he heard her moan and had to stop himself from ripping her clothes off. She probably sensed his desperation cause she pulled his shirt up, he got the hint and help her get his shirt out of the way. They stayed still for a second, neither could look away from the other, she reached to caress his cheek and he kissed her fingers making her smile. He felt a warmth overpower him, just with a smile... She could make him lose his mind just with a simple, shy, naive smile... He sat down.

-"Are you _really_ sure about this?" He asked again against his own will. She pulled herself up and sat herself on his lap.

-"Why do you keep asking me that?" She cooed kissing his neck.

-"Because you're not answerig me" He answered amused by her attitude. She stayed silent, so after a short but unnerving silence, he cupped her face on his hands. "Are you pouting?"

-"Don't you want to?" She asked feeling kind of hurt that he wanted to be stopped so badly.

-"Are you kidding? If you weren't like Eriol's little sister, we wouldn't be having this conversation... at all."

-"I'm not Eriol's littl-"

-"I said _like_, like Eriol's little sister."

-"Right, cause that would make me your little cousin and I'm not into that whole forbidden-incest-love stuff." She laughed.

-"Don't even put that out there." He scolded her and started kissing her once more, tugging upwards at her blouse. He couldn't take it off so he just started kissing down her neck unbuttoning the three first buttons.

-"Is the interrogation over officer?" She mock him half whispering, half moaning.

-"If you don't stop me, I'm not gonna." He smile on her neck, she heard a snap and her bra felt down, unhooked.

_"How and when the hell did he do that? Damn, he's good." _She thought feeling a shudder when his cold hands touched her breasts. Then he gently bit her through her blouse and this time she was the one to push him down on the couch, sitting on top of him. They kissed while they rocked against each other. She started moaning again and he took that as his cue to start unzipping her skirt but then...

DING DONG!

They froze.

-"Are you expecting someone?" He whispered.

-"At this time? It's probably a salesman." She whispered back, out of breath.

-"Really?! At this time?" Asked Syaoran speaking normally.

-"SHHH!"

"Why are you shushing me for?" He complained going back to the whispers.

-"I- I don't know... You were whispering so..." She answered feeling confused, she was still sitting on top of him with her blouse half gone. He had time to take a good look at her appereance and started to lightly scratch her tights right away. She gave him a mischiveous, knowledgeable smile. "You just want to make a run in them, don't you?"

-"Can I?" He begged. She kissed him starting to move again, he pulled on the nylon cloth with his nails and finally felt her soft, burning skin with his fingertips.

DING DONG! DING DONG! DING DONG! DING DONG!

"MMNNNNN!" Complained Sakura. "Who the eff...!" She said standing up and walking towards the door. Syaoran caught her on time hugging her from behind. "I'm just gonna shoo them away. It won't take long" She explained.

-"Maybe I should go." Offered Syaoran kissing her neck. "You should probably cover up."

-"Huh?" She looked down and realized how 'unladylike' she looked just then. Blushing furiously, she pulled at her blouse trying to cover herself. "I- I'm gonna... I'll be back." She said running away towards the bathroom.

-"I'll see who's at the door." He called putting his shirt back on, there was no answer. He sighed and walked towards the front door with every intention of killing whomever it was that had ruined such a great moment.

On the door steps awaited a middle-age, slimy-looking man. He gave a start when he saw Syaoran on the front door and shifted nervously on his place, trying to look inside the house over Syaoran's shoulder.

-"Can I help you?" Asked Syaoran apparently polite but with all the murder intent in the world curling into each of the words coming out of his mouth, leaving an aftertaste on the last one.

-"W-W-Who are you? Where is Sakura?"

-"I'm none of your bussiness, what do you want wit-"

-"Mr. Peek?" Came Sakura's voice from behind Syaoran along with a flash of light, he turned around and noticed, with renewed annoyance at the man outside, that she had placed all her clothes back on their proper place, except the tights which had no salvation and were nowhere to be seen. "Is everything ok?"

-"Y-Yes, I just got home from work, saw a stranger's car so I thought I'd check if you were ok?"

-"Oh, I'm great." She answered unvoluntarely blushing, Syaoran gave her a mocking look that she chose to ignore. "I mean... I- He- He's a... He's Eriol's cousin, you remember my friend Eriol, right?"

-"Right." Said her neighbour in a resentful manner. "The punk with the blue hair?"

-"The very same. Sorry to make you worry so late at night."

-"Not a problem. Is-... he-...? Well, if everything's ok... Good night." Said her neighbour uncomfortably and he went to his own house accross the street.

-"Good night Mr. Peek!" Called Sakura when the man was out of her property.

-"Mr Peek?" Asked Syaoran with sarcasm after closing the door.

-"Don't let Eriol influence you against him. He is a really caring neighbour."

-"Sure, for a deviant that is..."

-"He is not a deviant." She said half laughing. "You are worst than Eriol. He moved in shortly after my parents past away and he was a great help then."

-"Cause he has a mid-life crisis crush on you!" Accused Syaoran half amused and half worrried.

-"He does not."

-"I'm a man, I can tell."

-"Women are the ones with the intuition, not men."

-"Men have protecting skills."

-"Women and their young again." She argued

-"Men just know when other men want their woman."

-"So I'm _your _woman now?."

-"I didn't say that." He replied quickly and then lowering his voice he repeated to himself: "I did _not_ just say that." He heard her laugh and felt her arms around his hips.

-"Are you jealous?" She asked jokingly giving him a cute pout.

-"Of that slimy deviant? Am not!" He answered feeling insulted.

-"Good! Cause he's not my type at all, you know? He has a bald spot an' all, I go for younger pray." She said with mischief crawling into her sweet smile.

-"So I'm your _pray_ now?" He asked amused once again by her playfulness.

-"Do you want to be hunted down by me?" She joked.

-"Mmm... Let's see who chases who at the end. " He said advancing at her menacingly, she took a step back.

-"W-What?"

-"You shouldn't role play with me missy, I'm very serious about it." He laughed evily tickling his fingers towards her. She try to make a run for it but he launched at her and pulled her to the couch tickling her.

-"No! S-Syaoran! S-S-Stop, I'm gonna- hahaha, please-... stop..." She caught her breath still giggling and then surprised, she looked at the man on top of her. "You stopped... Why?"

-"You said the magic word." He smiled sweetly. "Does that mean you want me to go on?" He didn't wait for her answer and lean in to start kissing her again but she wasn't responding with the same amount of passion as before... Maybe because the lights were on now... Syaoran cursed interiorly at her neighbour.

-"Mmm... Syaoran?" She called him with fear in her voice.

-"I should go?" He guessed, amused at her shyness and he sat down trying to calm himself down.

-"I'm... sorry. I just...give me a sec..."

-"Hey, It's fine. I'll make it up to you. Maybe lunch next friday?"

-"I- I usually work on fridays..." She answered looking really disappointed.

-"Then Saturday? any day? Doesn't have to be days, I don't have a curfew." He proposed jokingly, kissing her again.

-"Then saturday it is." She agreed

-"You mean tomorrow?" He teased making her laugh.

They finally got out of the couch and she walked him to the door were they kissed good night and parted unwillingly. She closed the door behind him starting to regret letting him go and he walked to his car trying to convince himself that it was all for the best and that killing her neighbour was not worth it. He started his car and began backing out of the driveway when something he saw on his rearview mirror made him stop. He let the car die and turn around; There was someone peeking through her neighbour's window, half hidden by the curtains... Were those binoculars? He turned to look at the girl's house; She had turned the tv on and she let herself fall on the couch kicking and flapping her arms in a silent tantrum. He would have laughed if he wasn't so worried at how unaware she was that she was being observed. Had her neighbour been spying on them making out? Was he really a deviant? Maybe that was why Eriol had picked fights with him all the time, he had thought it was weird for his mild-tempered cousin to have neighbourly conflicts and of course he wouldn't tell Sakura cause Eriol was the type of guy that liked to take care of things without worrying the other parties involved... Mr. Peek? really, the irony! He saw Sakura stretch her arms, pulling herself into a sitting position. She yawned and started unfastening her blouse, he got out of the car taking his keys with him and ran to the front door ringing the bell frantically. In her living room, Sakura jumped half-way done unfastening the buttons of her blouse. She quickly started buttoning up again, not quite fitting the buttons right and peered through the peeking hole in her front door.

-"Syaoran?" She asked opening the door for him. "What's wrong? I thought you left." She said turning a little red.

-"Er... Yes, I- I tried to... I called my hotel because... I remembered- I do have a curfew after all... They are closed for the night." He lied the best that he could.

-"Oh no! What will y- ? Do you-?" She babbled not really knowing what to say or do.

-"Can I use your phone? I thought I should call Eriol but my cellphone is dead."

-"Umm... Sure, come in. I'll- get the phone..." She said looking everywhere for one. "If I found it..." She whispered annoyed at herself for letting everything out of it's place.

-"Take your time, I'm not in a hurry." He laughed and seeing her disappear into another part of the house, he walked to the living room's window. He made an "I'm-watching-you" gesture towards it and then closed the curtains in one furious sweep motion.

-"Is there something wrong?" Came Sakura's voice, she had the phone on her hands. "I found it but the battery is dead, it'll just take a little while to get it charged though. Why did you close the curtains?"

-"I just thought the light might bother the neighbours." He answered with a cunning smile on his face.

-"Oh God, you are right! I've never thought of that before..."

-"Don't worry, you just have to do it from now on and... you should probably not change infront of the window too." He said pointing at the misplaced buttons of her blouse, she blushed. "There are kids in your neighbourhood, ya know? We don't want them dying of nosebleeds, do we?" He teased.

-"Right..." She said not really knowing at what she was aggreeing to, she was too embarrassed at her carelessness, to think she had been flashing her neighbours all these years! He couldn't resist her cuteness, he went and cupped her burning face in his hands and kissed her sweetly. She responded happily, she was glad that he had come back.

-"Mmm...so... that call?" Asked Syaoran ending the kiss, he was afraid of getting caught up again.

-"You know it's really late and Eriol will probably ignore all calls. You should just stay here." She offered with sincere worry.

-"H-Here? Are you...?"

-"Yes, I am sure. I've got spare rooms." She said laughing at his doubtful expression.

-"Right, a spare... Good. Well, if you don't mind then, I'll take you on that offer."

-"Wanna watch a movie? I was going to but you'll probably won't like it..." She finish her sentence uneasily.

-"It's ok, I'll watch whatever you want to."

-"It's really corny material, just so you know... We could watch something else, my brother left some dvds... somewhere around-"

-"It's fine, really." He said catching her and flopping on the couch with her on his lap. He smile at her crimson face. "You look tasty." He teased and took soft bites at her exposed neck.

-"S-Syaoran!" She scolded feeling embarrassed yet caressing his hair, he kept kissing. "W-Wait! Are you thirsty? Hungry? I can get some snacks."

-"I'll stop, you don't have to bribe me with food." He joked and let the weight of his head drop on her right shoulder in a awkward hug. "So, what are we watching?"

-"Um... '_When Harry Met Sally_'." She said in the tinniest voice. "It's a guilty pleasure..."

-"You don't actually feel guilty about it at all, do you?" He mocked her letting go of her to take a look at her face. "You honest to God want to make me go through this so you can enjoy every second of it."

-"It's a really good movie!" She flared up. "I told you that we can watch something else if you don't want to, I'll watch this on my own."

-"No, no, I said I would watch whatever you wanted to. Come on, hit me with your best shot."

-"If you insist." She sighed and started the movie feeling really self conscious. Then she sat down on a corner of the couch not sure whether it was ok to seat too near to him. He smiled guessing at what was going on through her head and pulled her towards him by the waist. Once she was next to him looking tense and hesitant, he put his arm around her shoulders and gently caressed her hair forcing her head to rest on his shoulder. She thought she felt his lips on her temple but it could have just been her imagination...

Syaoran survived the movie, it hadn't been as bad as he thought it would. He particularly enjoyed seeing Sakura blush and squirm uneasily on his arms at the right moments. Every single corny second of the movie was worth it.

Still wide awake after the movie, they kept on watching tv, flipping trough channels without really understanding much of any show. His hand was still massaging her head and one of her hands was making the same circular motions on his leg, they were both distracted...

Sakura didn't know when she had fallen asleep. She heard the tune from the news program and inmediately after, the news anchor began the morning announcements. She turned off the tv and hugged herself to her strangely warm pillow, twisting one of her legs around it. Her pillow started caressing her head and she moaned in happiness before realizing something was off. Finally, she pushed herself away from his warmth falling off the couch and screaming like a nutter.

-"What's wrong?! It's me! It's just me, remember?" Syaoran woke up trying to quiet her down. Sakura finally focused on him and with one hand over her chest, she tried to catch her breath, whimpering with relieve.

-"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Apologized Syaoran.

-"N-No, I am the one who's sorry... I completely forgot and I even fell asleep on top of you." She said, ashamed.

-"Don't worry, you are welcome to use me as your pillow anytime you feel the least bit inclined." He answered satisfied to see the shade of red deepening in her cheeks.

-"A-Are you hungry? I'll go make breakfast." Said Sakura feeling flustered and ready to flee.

-"Need help with that?" Offered Syaoran.

-"No!" Almost yelled Sakura taking him aback. "No, I'll take care of it. You just wait here."

-"Ok." He answered, but he couldn't wait. He tried to, tried to watch the news and be interested in whatever was going on in the world but the only thing he was really interested in, was in what was going on in the kitchen.

_"What am I doing? I'm an idiot... I should stop this. Now. Eriol's gonna kill me, I should have known better than to do Eriol a favor... He knows exactly my type! Of course he set me up, he knew I would fell for it. She is just really attractive and she has an amazing house, it's just the house. Right! We could date, she is not crazy. I can date her... for a year. I get free housing and a great, beautifull one-year girlfriend. She doesn't need to ever find out about the house thing. I'm not lying, she knows I'm stationned here for just one year... I told her I was here for work, she knows is not forever. Oh God, I'm a jerk... If only I could stay away from her. This is all Eriol's fault. That's it! I'm gonna burn in hell but damn it! Still worth it..."_

A yellow, weird looking cat jumped infront of him, peering intensely into his amber eyes reproachfully.

-"Don't look at me like that, shoo!"

Kero hissed at him sounding exactly like a bad omen and then, went running to the kitchen in search of his beloved mistress.

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. Chapter 3

Hi, Thanx for all the positive reviews! I'll try my best to write a fun story, let me know what you guys think, peace!

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**Chapter Three**

**Guilt**

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Syaoran flopped on top of his bed and rubbed his eyes feeling exhausted. He had had the most straining night of his life, he had been on edge from beginning to end. He felt guilty and he felt happy, now all he needed to do was find out which one he felt the strongests. It didn't help that he had barely had a wink of sleep. It had been hard to stop himself from attacking her while she innocently tossed and turned in her sleep looking rosy and cozy. He felt guilty enough from having stolen a couple of heated kisses from her during the night... He closed his eyes and smiled remembering the feeling of her soft skin under his fingertips, _she_ was his guilty pleasure...

-"I take it the date went well." Came his cousin's voice entering the room. Syaoran started and sat on the bed with an uneasy feeling at the bottom of his stomach.

-"It... was ok..." He answered avoiding Eriol's gaze.

-"Really? Just ok?" His cousin said mockingly. " Are you going somewhere?" Eriol asked taking a look at his cousin's atire for the first time since he entered the room. "Why so dressed up so early in the morning? It's saturday, office's closed today."

-"Not going anywhere." Muttered Syaoran flopping on the bed again.

-"Good, cause you look like you got hit by a truck, your face I mean..."

-"The truck has a name..." Complained Syaoran scratching his head and pulling his hair in frustration. "And she's not adding you on fb again if that's what you came here to find out."

-"Whyyy? You looked pleased just now, I thought you'd lay your charm on her, that's never failed before. Did she turned you to her side? Damn it! I should have known you'd only be weak against her, she's exactly your type plus she has that weird -I'm a soft-cuddly-virgin- charm about her." Ranted Eriol oblivious of his cousin's tortured feelings. Syaoran was debating whether to tell everything to Eriol or not. He sounded heartless about his childhood friend right now but Syaoran knew better that Eriol's and Sakura's friendship was a strange mix of love and hate... They quarreled but they cared.

-"The date went well for me, not for you." Admitted Syaoran. "Actually... I don't think you will be so happy to know how well it went..." Eriol stopped mid ranting and took a new look at his cousin's appearance.

-"Did you just... _got_ here?" He asked menacingly. Syaoran grunted burying his face on a pillow. "I told you! No kissing, no touching, no looking, not even thinking!" Eriol scolded him.

-"Well, you were right about the 'not thinking' part." Came the muffled voice of Syaoran from underneath the pillow. "Plus!" He flared up assuming a sitting position once more. "You said we needed to loosen up and get kinky, Sakura and I! Didn't you? You said we probably weren't sexed up right in highschool!"

-"I was JOKING?" Suggested Eriol. "I thought you weren't looking for a relationship." Accused Eriol, Syaoran felt silent and avoided his cousin's eyes again. "You are looking for one now, aren't you? Aren't you?! You better start saying 'yes, I'll marry her and love her for all eternity' right about now if you don't want to wake up in the trunk of a car sunk under the deep sea." Threathen Eriol feeling betrayed by his own bad judgement. "Oh God, I have to kill you now."

-"Nothing happened! We just... made out... we slept, that's all. No sex actually happened. Plus, she has a really creepy neighbour."

-"So, you met Mr. Peek..." Said Eriol with disgust.

-"Met him? He's the reason I stayed! He was peeping at her when I was backing out of the drive way." Eriol reexamined his cousin. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that his childhood friend was hooking up with his favorite cousin. Syaoran was a good man, he was bad at relationships and had never fallen in love before cause he kept putting work before everything else but he seemed pretty concerned about Sakura... He'd never before showed the slightess concern for a girl's problems in his whole life and Sakura was the perfect description of his type which was a rare quality taking in consideration that Syaoran was really picky about the women he dated. Maybe he had fallen a little for her without noticing himself, after all he couldn't know what falling for someone felt like since he had never done it before,right?

_"Maybe I should let them figure it out themselves... If they got together...That would make Sakura my family and she'd had no choice but to add me on fb again! Touya will probably kill me, though... Ah! F*** it! Who am I to stop love from blossoming? I just have to pretend that it was all fate, Touya will never find out that I was the one to set them up on a first date, will he? He has a frightening power but Nakuru's been keeping him on the loop since they got married... I mean, seriously! Does he really believe that his 23-years-old-baby-sister has remained dateless to this day? Isn't he being awfully naive? Doesn't he feel the slightest bit sorry for her? And I know Syaoran will come to his senses, won't he? He's a good man, he's not heartless. He's a great friend and companion, I have faith in him... And he kept Mr. Peeping Tom away from her, didn't he? Right! They are made for each other, I'll just stay on the sidelines and make sure Syaoran don't screw up."_

-"Are you listening to me? That neighbour of hers is a real danger. Maybe I should get her a restraining order against him, put him on a sex ofender list or something..." carried on Syaoran.

Meanwhile, Sakura was clearing up the table when the doorbell rang. She ran and threw the door open. Tomoyo took a step back surprised by Sakura's huge smile that dropped a little at the sight of her. Tomoyo frowned, that had never happened before.

-"Were you expecting somebody else?" Asked Tomoyo with her voice full of suspicion.

-"N-no... Whom else would I be expecting? Touya doesn't visit me at all and I wasn't expecting _you_ to remember that you had a best friend either." Accused Sakura trying to shift the guilt towards her friend. It worked, Tomoyo squirmed uncomfortably knowing painfully well that she had been constantly neglecting Sakura ever since she started dating and got engaged to Eriol. She had only chattered a little with her during work time and in those times Sakura was always buried in paperwork or tied to the phone... Sakura sighed letting her friend in and felt silly because she had thought for a split second that Syaoran had come back.

_"Of course he wouldn't! He just left, why would he come back so soon? You are so stupid... He's probably tired and in pain, you slept like a log on top of him... Like a heavy, drool-machine log... Oh God, I should have let him call Eriol yesterday, he's probably thinking the worst of me."_

-"I really am sorry." Was saying her friend when she finally came back to her senses. "I've missed you, it's just been a really crazy time with all the wedding preparations and all..."

-"It's fine, you don't have to explain yourself to me. I'm not your mother, remember?" Said Sakura a little more drily that she had intended to.

-"Sakura, when I said that..."

-"Again, not your mother." Carried on Sakura walking to the kitchen with Tomoyo on her tail. She stuffed the plates noisily on the dishwasher while Kero rubbed himself on her ankles.

-"I just don't want you to be mad at me anymore. Aren't you at least a little bit happy for me?"

-"I'm happy. I went to your stupid date, aren't you happy?"

-"Y-You went?" Asked Tomoyo surprised.

-"Of course I went, you are my only real friend. At least, I thought you were but seems that now, I have to bribe you for you to care for me."

-"That's not true, I.. I didn't mean to threaten you like that... Don't be mad, you've never been mad at me before. I just... Why can you and Eriol get along? Do you really need to quarrel like kids all the time? You know he cares about that stupid site, so just add him back and end this childish fight."

-"Why do _I_ have to add him back, he's not my friend. He's a jerk, he started this! Just because you love him doesn't mean that I have to love him too."

-"How exactly did _he_ started this?" Asked Tomoyo feeling exhausted already while following Sakura around the house.

-"Are you kidding?! He- He's been ruining each and every one of my dates ever since he came back from England -correction: ever since he came back from England _the first time. _He's the curse, not the house. Plus he kept picking fights with my neighbour, I had to throw him out of my house 'cause the police came to stop him from killing the man."

-"And I still can believe you threw him out just like that! He's your childhood friend, do you even know how hurt he was about that?"

-"Oh sure, he was hurt! I stopped him from going to jail for the rest of his puny little life, the twit! Plus what was I suppose to do if Mr. Peek got a restraining order against him? It's his own fault he cannot get inside this house ever again!"

-"F-Fine, so he might have over reacted a little but do you even know why he tried to kill the man in the first place?"

-"How should I know if he doesn't want to tell _me_? The poor man probably ate his english muffin, for all I know."

Tomoyo hesitated... No, Eriol was right, Sakura was better off not knowing her front door neighbour was a sexual deviant with a peeping tom fetish... Tomoyo sighed and looked around as if expecting a good argument to be sitting on the couch but then she noticed something different on the room. Something not in Sakura's habits.

-"Did you close that curtain?" She asked surprised; Sakura liked the sunlight, she kept the house's curtains wide open at all times.

-"Huh? That..." Said Sakura and to Tomoyo's astonishment she blushed, Tomoyo hadn't seen her friend blush in years... Not since her parents...

-"D-Did something happened? Was Mr. Peek...?

-"Mr. Peek?" Repeated Sakura confused. "No, Syaoran..." She stopped, turning redder than before.

-"Syaoran? You mean Eriol's cousin?! You and Eriol's cousin did the nasty?!"

-"There was no nasty-doing!" Scolded her Sakura.

-"Was he as good as Eriol?"

-"Oh God! Please, don't! There are just some things I'd rather not know about Eriol!" Complained Sakura covering her ears.

-"Don't be silly, just tell me! Are you guys going out or was it just a one night thing? I've never talked to him before, I just had a little peek at him at Eriol's work place. He's hot! I tell you, that family is blessed with unhuman hotness!"

-"Really? Unhuman hotness? You can't be serious." Mocked her Sakura.

-"Mock me all you want but when Eriol does this thing with his-"

-"LALALALALALALALALALALA! Don't need that image on my head, thank you!"

-"Fine! You want ugly babies, marry Mr. Peek. You want out-of-this-world, hot just-out-of-the-oven babies then, go get some with this Syaoran guy!" Sentenced Tomoyo making Sakura burst out laughing.

-"You- You are insane." Laughed Sakura holding her sides as if she was afraid they would burst with all the laughing. "Ugly babies... hahaha ha-... ha-... hummm! hahahaha! marry Mr. Peek..."

Tomoyo tried hard to keep her serious but Sakura's laughter was too contagious for even her degree of frustration, she started laughing with her friend and once they were done making fun of Mr. Peek's ugly babies, all their anger at each other had gone away.

-"I am sorry I had to throw Eriol out but he just makes me so mad. He never thinks of the consequences..." Admitted Sakura. They were both lying on their backs, on the living room's floor with Kero purring near by.

-"I know that he's impulsive and he can be a little bit pushy... but he cares, you know..."

-"Just a little bit pushy? All he ever does is push!" Joked Sakura.

-"That's what makes him so adorable! He's a go getter." Defended him Tomoyo.

-"He's a go headache..." Said Sakura lamely.

-"Ok, that's an awful pun and you like Eriol, you just don't want to fess up to it. The same as Eriol... He just doesn't want to admit that he had a little boy's crush on you."

-"He did not, that's crazy! I use to save him from getting his butt kicked in pre-school. He hates me for it."

-"He loved you for it... Why do you guys won't own up to it."

-"Cause it's not true! He's like an idiot brother who always gets me in trouble."

-"That's now... I'm talking about back then." replied Tomoyo, amused by Sakura's description of Eriol.

-"Back then, he was a cry-baby fool who got me friendless then left for England without so much as a good bye -slash- thank you note."

-"He wrote to you..." Reminded her Tomoyo on his defense again.

-"Four years later! It took him four years to learn how to write a letter!"

-"Oh, come on. You were happy he wrote to you. I still remember the first letter you got from him. You took it with you _every_where. I was kinda jealous of it at the time, thought of burning it a couple of times too..." Admitted Tomoyo. They laughed remembering their chilhood days.

-"So, this Syaoran guy... Will you see him again?" Tomoyo was excited to see her best friend turning red like a teenaged girl again.

-"H-He asked me on a date next saturday..."

-"What did you say?" Asked Tomoyo flipping on her stomach to get a better look at her friend's face.

-"I said... yes." Confessed Sakura and the tinniest smile creeped into her lips.

-"If you didn't get your cherry popped-...?"

-"Really! Thank you for that wonderfull image." Complained Sakura.

-"Then what exactly happened here?" Laughed Tomoyo ignoring her friend's outcry.

-"Nothing... we kissed- make out, call it however you want... you know, lots of tongue action."

-"He didn't get all pushy, did he...?"

-'Nope, he was a real gentleman." Said Sakura

-"Just what you would expect of Eriol's cousin." Tomoyo bounced up happily.

-"You mean that as a joke, right?" Said Sakura poking fun at her friend.

-"He's not pushy all the time, you know? He knows where to draw the line."

-"Sure, sure."

-"Was he any good? Come on, give me a little more than just 'handholding'..." Begged Tomoyo in despair. How was she ever going to find out if this was her futur best friend in law if she only got mixed messages from her BFF?

-"Fine, he was... tsk, he was ... "

-"Why is it so hard? Just say it! Was it very good, good, not so good, bad , horrible, worst than having Mr. Peek's ugly babies? which one is it?" Insisted Tomoyo laughing.

-"None of the above." Answered Sakura amused by her friend's insistence. "Using your own words: it was unhuman hotness."

-"Eeek! We landed a good one, yay!" Celebrated her friend rolling on the wooden floor. "You must push him down next saturday."

-"There will be no pushing down! Not everyone is as fast as you and Eriol. Most people want to know who they are kissing with before the actual pushing down part."

-"What is the fun in that?" Teased Tomoyo. "And FYI I did date Eriol before the pushing down began. In fact, you move faster than I ever did, which is surprising with your denseness."

-"Thank you, you are such a wonderful influence on me. But I better not get our hopes up..." Sighed Sakura a little saddened.

-"Why not? Does he have a girlfriend? Eriol would never set you two up if he did."

-"No... He's just here for work. He'll be gone in a year's time. We have an expiration date..."

-"Hold on! So did Eriol when he first came and he's not going anywhere. At least, not without me if he knows what's good for him!" Tried to cheered her up Tomoyo.

-"But I better not get caught up in the lovelane. He isn't Eriol, I'm not you..." Sakura sighed again. "Maybe this is the only kind of love I'm good at... I'm a temp."

-"You are not! You are most definetly a keeper! If he doesn't stay here for you at the end of the year I will personally unleash the wrath of a demon on him!" Promised Tomoyo knowing exactly who that demon would be...

_"Although, the wrath of Touya will be unleashed on him anyways if he stays and marries her... But, what is life without a little bump on the road, right...? I'm sure this Syaoran can survive the unmerciful hatred of Touya if he could make her eyes twinkle and her cheeks flush again... Even Touya would allow him to have Sakura if that made her truly, honestly happy once more..."_ Thought Tomoyo hoping for the best.

-"By the way Tomo, why did you come here today? It's been a while." Asked Sakura sitting on the floor. Tomoyo gasp and leapt to her feet.

-"Oh God I forgot, grab your stuff! Hurry! Dinner starts at 7!"

-"W-What? It's only eleven yet... Where...?" Sakura tried to get some answers but Tomoyo was running all over the house, collecting Sakura's stuff. "Tomoyo!" Almost yelled Sakura finally grabbing her best friend by the back of her dress. "What is going on?!"

-"It's an engagement party!"

-"What for? You guys are already engaged. You've been wearing that ring from the beginning of time, it's collecting mold already!"

-"We are renewing the engagement..."

-"Are you guys serious? Is that like a _thing_ nowadays?"

-"Nevermind your lack of romanticism, we have to get going! I made reservations at the spa... Besides, this time Eriol's cousin will be there so I will get to meet your boyfriend."

-"He's not my boyfriend..." Muttered Sakura. "Will my brother be there?" Asked Sakura deep in thought.

-"Er... No, he couldn't make it. He sent flowers though. Swored he would be there for the wedding."

-"I sometimes get the feeling that he is avoiding me..."

-"Avoiding you? Why would he?" Asked Tomoyo surprised.

-"I don't know, it's like something is always keeping him from visiting."

-"Ah-haha, haha t-that must be your imagination, there's no way!" Said Tomoyo with a pinch of guilt in her voice.

_"If she only knew that it's for her own good. Nakuru has to keep him away long enough for Sakura to actually live life... Once Sakura is inevitably far away from the path of a nunnery, then hopefully Touya will finally give up! It's not fair, he went and got married! Does he think Nakuru is not somebody else's daughter or sister? Really, he is so unreasonable sometimes. At least Eriol weeded out only the bad seeds." _Thought Tomoyo waking up just in time to hear Sakura's complaints about her work schedule.

-"So if he can miss, then I certainly c-..."

-"You're my maid of honour!"

-"So? He's the one walking you down the aisle. I have work at seven! I already missed one work day yesterday."

-"Every day is a work day with you! How many jobs do you have now? Three? Four? Be thankful I still haven't told Eriol or Touya about the barmaid job. They will really lock you up in a nunnery if they find out!"

-"Which is why you swore you would never tell or all your hair will fall off the day of your wedding." Threathen Sakura.

-"I- I didn't tell anyone." Complained Tomoyo touching her beautiful, soft and shiny jet black hair that went all the way down to her waist. "I promised so I won't... You promised to be careful..."

-"And I am and I only work there on call. They haven't call me for two weeks now. And I really need that extra money..."

-"No, you don't. Come on! Call in sick, the diner can survive one day without you. pretty pleeease." Begged Tomoyo trying to act cute. She knew Sakura couldn't resist cute things.

Sakura's resolution was beginning to shake when the phone rang. Tomoyo cursed under her breath hating whomever it was on the other side of the line and seeing her friend sprinting towards the phone.

-"Hello?!" Answered Sakura out of breath.

_-"Er... Hi, Sakura?"_

-"Huh? Yes, it's me. W-Who is this?" Asked Sakura shyly.

-"_You forgot about me so fast already?_" Joked Syaoran's voice from the other side and Sakura's cheek turned red with recognition. "_It's Syaoran, the guy you slept on top of yesterday night._"

-"Right... Sorry, I was just..." Sakura turned away from Tomoyo trying to hide her embarrassement or else there would be no end to her friend's teasing.

-"_Is everything alright?_" Asked Syaoran with worry. "_You sound weird..._"

-"N-no I'm fine, I'm perfect. How are you? Sorry about, you know..."

-"_No, I don't know._" Teased Syaoran. "_What are you sorry about?_"

-"You know!"

-"_Is there someone there with you right now?_" Guessed Syaoran and Sakura heard his smile linger on his voice.

-"Yes... Is it ok if I call later?"

-"_N-No! Hold on! It won't take long, I just have a question for you and I'll only accept one answer so I'm gonna ask and then I'll hung up._"

-"What? What is this question?"

-"_You'll see. I'll text you the details so just be ready._"

-"Ready for what?" Asked Sakura really confused now. She heard Syaoran laugh from the other side of the line.

-"_I need a date for tonight, will you go to the engagement party with me?_"

-"What? H-hello?" All Sakura could hear now was the dead line. "He really hung up! That sneaky man..."

-"Who was it?" Asked Tomoyo with real curiosity.

-"No one. Work... I don't have work today after all." Lied Sakura happily. "So I guessed I'll be going to your party."

Tomoyo watch her best friend go merrily about the house, she was intrigued... Had Sakura gotten herself fired from one of her jobs? Then why did she had that happy-go-lucky attitude? This was so unlike Sakura. It was almost as seeing the old Sakura being reborn from her ashes... Tomoyo saw her friend launched herself towards her cellphone and blush happily, this had to be this new guy. He'd better meet her expectations, she wanted her friend to find love but she wasn't about to give up her precious Sakura to just about any new comer.

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Sakura had a hard time getting away from Tomoyo and her crazy spa-marathon-day. When she got home, she actually felt more exhausted than she had been from spending a late date night with Syaoran but at least she didn't have to worry about getting ready for the night.

_"Two dates in two days... I've never gone to a second date before, I got stalked about one once but never actually went to one..." _Thought Sakura uneasily while throwing all the things Tomoyo had made her buy, on top of her bed. _"I'll be broke soon if I keep going like this... No, calm down. Ever since Tomo move out last year, you've been able to save up quite a bit of money... That's right, without girl's night out saving money is not that difficult. This is a pre-Christmas gift to yourself plus you didn't pay a thing yesterday, Eriol did -teehee! I guess I better put this damn dress on but seriously! renewing an engagement? Can they just get actually married, then renew something that is real? Well, I get to see Syaoran so I guess I'll let them do whatever they want but this time better be the one cause if Eriol postpones that wedding one more time, I'll ship him back to England inside a coffin!"_

Her cellphone started shaking and she hurried to see the new message. She felt stupid at being so excited over a message but she had been this way all day, there was nothing she could do to stop herself from wanting to speak, text or see Syaoran... Sakura didn't want to become a stalker but he was becoming an addiction. She saw with a twinge of dissapointement the new message, Syaoran would be late...

-"I've got to stop." She said aloud as a new message came through.

_"I'll call when I'm done, can't wait to see you. I'll be there asap."_

-"How can I stop when you are like this, you sneaky man... You text nice things but write to me like I'm you're secretary, this isn't work -you don't have to punch a card." Sakura threw her cellphone to the far end of the bed and went on with undoing her shopping bags, looking for the dress she bought for the night. "I'm not gonna answer that, I can just take a cab to the reception... Besides, if I go with him, Tomoyo will not let me hear the end of it." Her cellphone shook again and despite feeling foolish she jumped on the bed reaching for it.

_"I can see you pouting [insert musical note] Stop that or you'll turn into a duck."_

-"I'm not pouting!" She yelled at the cellphone. "That's it, I'm an idiot."

_"Not pouting! I was thinking... we can just meet there if you are busy. I don't need a ride so don't worry about that." _Wrote Sakura not sure if it was too obvious. It probably was but it was either that or having Tomoyo planning their wedding. She closed her eyes and pressed send.

-"God, why do I do this to myself?" She threw the cellphone again, pick up the dress from the bed and left the room.

Kero managed to get out from under all of Sakura's new clothes, he had been sleeping the day away when an avalanche of shopping bags had fallen on top of him. Disoriented, he looked around for the one responsible for his misfortune when Sakura's cellphone shook violently from underthe bed where it had fallen: someone was calling her. Frightened by the strange vibrating object, he hissed then ran in search of his misstress.

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	4. Chapter 4

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**Chapter Four**

**To Get Her**

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-"Why isn't she picking up?! I just said I would be 10 minutes late."

-"She probably thought she was imposing on you... That's Sakura for you, doesn't get in the way if she can help it. Now get back to work, we made a deal." Scolded Eriol going through a pile of paperwork.

-"Well if she doesn't pick up, the deal is void." Complained Syaoran.

-"Hey now! I gave you her numbers, you've been texting -haven't you? I am in no way responsible for the outcome of your calls. Now keep your end of the deal." Demanded Eriol sorting out papers. "Besides, this is your mother's precious engagement gift. Aren't you grateful to her?" Said Eriol in a resentful voice.

-"She wouldn't be attacking you with work if you had remembered to send her an invite to your wedding." Said Syaoran with annoyance.

-"The thing is: I didn't forget! I bet she would have refused to come even if I had sent her an invitation; She _hates_ weddings. In fact, she hates all kinds of celebrations: birthdays, christenings, weddings, christmas. God! She hates funerals and she's been the cause of many of them! She even hates Halloween and she _is _a witch." Ranted on Eriol making his cousin laugh.

-"My mom may hate celebrations but she loves you. She's not gonna let this one go." Syaoran warned him.

-"When has she ever let anything go?" Complained Eriol.

-"Oh believe me, she lets you get away with more than she ever let me do."

-"Like what?"

-"Like the time you decided to stay here and leave the England branch to manage itself on its own." Syaoran reminded him .

-"And hasn't she made me pay for it till this day? The wedding has been postponed more than twice now!" Replied Eriol defensively.

-"Oh, that has nothing to do with you leaving. That has all to do with your guest list."

-"What's wrong with my guest's list?" Complained Eriol.

-"She's not in it!" Answered Syaoran cheerfully. "That aside, if I had merely dreamt of doing something like that, she would have cut my head off and put it on display in the main branch's entrance as a reminder to all other employees that work comes before dreams..." Sighed Syaoran.

-"No, she wouldn't. Then who would help her manage the whole company?" Joked Eriol. "The problem is, she knows she's got a hold on you. You need to stop feeling guilty about living your own life."

-"That's bs. What I need to do is to get a hold of this stubborn woman and that's not gonna happen if I stay here sorting paperwork with you so..."

-"Hey! Hold on! We made a deal! Y-you can just... you can't!... You just did..." Sighed Eriol seeing his cousin disappear through the door. "You owe me two favours now!"

Syaoran pressed the elevator button frantically while trying to ignore his cousin's outraged threats. Good thing he had his tux on the car, he had time to change then pick her up... unless she decided to leave home earlier...

_"Damn it! Why is she so radical? Is it really that hard to wait ten extra minutes? I'm sure she would have made me wait longer anyways! Women always do... But she's not like other women so I can't be certain. I'm doing this for the house, it really is for the house... I might find housing in an asylum if this goes on!"_

Syaoran got to her house earlier but barely in time to catch her. He saw her car parked on the driveway so he walk calmly to the front door with his tux under his arm and pressed on the doorbell. Her voice came, she obviously thought he was the taxi she had called. Then the door burst open.

-"I'm sorry I made you wait, they told me you would be here lat-... Syaoran! What are you doing here?"

-"Meet you there? Really?" Syaoran had been ready to be angry but sarcasm is as far as he got when he saw how beautifully she was dressed.

-"I thought you were busy." She explained. "What ar...? Did you left things undone because of me?" She asked ready to be outraged.

-"Don't worry, Eriol's taking care of it." He joked.

-"Get back and finish what you have to!" She scolded him.

-"Wha..? But I... You..."

-"I told you I could take a cab there. It's already on its way. You can't just leave Eriol to do your work, it's his engage-"

-"It was his work to begin with and why are you scolding me?" Complained Syaoran.

-"Because you are being irresponsible and..."

-"And you don't want to go with me." He guessed.

-"What?" She said confused at his conclusion. "That..."

-"You could have just said so." He sighed. "Fine, take your cab there."

-"H-Hold on! I never said..."

-"You didn't have to. I get it." He cut her off walking towards his car.

-"You get what, you idiot?!" She yelled before she could stop herself. Syaoran turned around surprised, she was red as a tomato and it was not all makeup.

-"What did you say?" He asked not believing his own ears. The sweet Sakura, _his _sweet Sakura had called him a -what?

-"N-Nothing. You are right, just leave." She tried to flee inside her house but he caught her by the wrist.

-"Did you just call me an idiot?" He laugh at her embarrassement.

-"No... Maybe, just a little. I was mad, I'm sorry. Please, leave now..." Sakura begged feeling like a fool.

-"Why? I must be an idiot if even you say so." Said Syaoran trying to make her look at him, she was avoiding his eyes. "Why exactly am I an idiot for? Didn't you want me to leave?"

-"Iiii- I don't want you to... That's the problem. I wish you would but I don't want you to..." She admitted. "Isn't that crazy? I just met you yesterday." She laugh feeling stupid now. "I'm not ready for -whatever this is."

-"And what do you think it is?" Syaoran asked feeling the twinge of guilt coming back mixed with an odd kind of pain.

-"I don't know but it's not gonna last... I've worked _so_ hard -to find balance and you are just...not." She felt his lips on hers. _"Obviously." _She thought_. "We are having two different conversations in one cause he did not understand what I just said."_

Syaoran wanted to hit himself... hard. If there ever was a time for him to stop his stupid plan, he had just missed it. Why was it so hard to just let Sakura alone? Was Eriol right? Maybe he was in need of a sex life but why couldn't it be somebody else besides Sakura? She had been honest, why couldn't he?

_"Because I feel the same way... She knows is not forever. I'm leaving in a year, I told her that. I've worked to keep away from relationships that last and that is exactly what she is... only, it's not gonna last this time."_

-"Syaoran..." She said pushing him softly away.

-"I know I can't promise you that I'll stay but you can depend on me." He heard himself saying while having an out of body experience. He wanted to hit the Syaoran speaking, he was making his life a mess. "Even after I leave, whenever you need me, you just have to call. It doesn't matter how busy or how far away I find myself from you, if you need me for anything -whatever it is you need from me- I will come to you. I will always be there for you."

Sakura breathed in deeply and was about to say something when a ear-splitting honk made both of them jump. Her taxi had arrived.

-"Do you still want to meet me there?" Asked Syaoran pleadingly. She catched her breath but couldn't say a word so she just shook her head. He smile and kissed her lightly before paying her taxi off. "Did I accidentaly eat your tongue?" He asked recovering his good humor while he returned to her side. She blushed furiously and cleared her throat.

-"No." She finally said.

-"Why weren't you picking up the phone?" He asked archly.

-"The phone? I didn't hear...?" Sakura asked confused.

-"Your cellphone." Insisted Syaoran. Sakura gasped and ran inside the house.

-"I knew I was forgetting something... Tomoyo is going to kill me!" She ranted on. Syaoran who had followed her inside the house saw her turn the house upside down looking for her cellphone. "She said she was gonna text me the address and I promised I would reply... Where is it?!" She said in a panicky state, Syaoran hugged her from the back making her stop.

-"How were you ever planning to get there without an address?" He mocked her while kissing her neck.

-"I... I didn't think about it." She admitted sheepishly.

-"What is the last thing you did with your cellphone?" He asked patiently and got his answer from her burning cheeks. "Where were you then?"

-"My room." She admitted, not asking how he knew.

-"Then let's go look there." He proposed.

-"W-what? You- You are coming too? I can go look for it by myself." Sakura said nervously.

-"Why? Are you hiding something in there?" Syaoran asked, amused once again by her attitude.

-"No."

-"Someone?" He teased.

-"Y-y-you can't come inside a woman's room just like that." She scolded.

-"Why not?" He insisted, teasing Sakura was always fun.

-"You just can't!"

-"Fine, then I'll get changed while you look for your phone." Syaoran sighed giving up on his teasing since Sakura was being particularly stubborn about her room. Sakura showed him the way to a bathroom then ran to her room. She found her phone under the bed, it had a thousand messages from her best friend with different degrees of alarm. The last one was a threat to call the police and file a missing person's report. She decided to call Tomoyo inmediately because Sakura knew she was capable of really calling the police. After being yelled at for a straight half hour, they agreed to meet at the hotel where the engagement party was taking place. Sakura hung up feeling exhausted, she wished she could just stay home and catch some sleep. God knows she needed some...

-"So this is the mistery place." Called Syaoran from the door, Sakura jumped gasping in surprise.

-"What are you doing here?!" She yelled.

-"It's a bit messy but quite cute." He went on ignoring her dissaproving glare.

-"You are not allowed to see." She complained trying to block his view.

-"Is a little too late for that." He laughed holding her arms out of the way. "Although, I thought you would have taken over the master bedroom by now." He confessed.

-"I don't need a big room." She justified herself feeling like a kid caught red handed.

-"You..." He said letting go of her arms and advancing towards her, Sakura took a step back unsure of Syaoran's next move. "Need to take control of the house." He said stopping when Sakura dropped in a sitting position on top of all her shopping bags.

-"I don't know what that means." She complained crossing her arms and legs.

-"I think you do." Disagreed Syaoran starting to crawl on top of her. She undid her arms and hesitated between putting her hands as a barrier between them because that meant touching him, but when he closed the distance with a kiss, her hands went involuntarily to rest at the base of his neck.

-"We are going to be late." She said gasping for air after a long kiss.

-"I hate it when you are right." Complained Syaoran letting her scape. He flopped on her bed and watched as she touched up her make-up. "You look stunning, Tomoyo will be mad at you for unshinning her."

-"Why is that?" She asked distractedly. Syaoran made a silent tantrum like he'd seen her do before, she was the most infuriating woman he had ever met. There he was, telling her how beautiful she was and she was too busy journeying through la-la land and beyond. "What's wrong?" She asked with concern sitting down next to him.

-"What's wrong is I'm not making love to you right now." He said and left the room leaving her speechless.

-"That sneaky man..." She hissed under her breath trying to calm down her cheeks and her heart. Syaoran waited for her downstairs, he was satisfied by the glare she threw his way when she finally calmed down enough to face him.

They got to the party late, which was enough to make Tomoyo want to plan Sakura's funeral and wedding all at the same time. Syaoran was surprised to realize how many of the couple's guests seemed to know Sakura, he had thought she was the sort of reserved person that kept only a couple of close friends, but many of the guests just casually picked her off her feet and twirled her on the air as soon as they saw her. The last of them, a gray haired young man caught her by surprise and Syaoran saw with a twinge of jealousy as Sakura's face lit with extreme happiness as soon as she recognized the new comer.

-"YUKITO?!" She yelled in ecstasy

-"SAKURA!" Answered the man still rocking from side to side in a hug that was too tight for Syaoran's taste.

-"What are you doing here? I thought...!" Asked Sakura feeling overjoyed.

-"I'm here just for a couple of weeks but I might stay the month though. I actually kind of invited myself to the party... Touya told me you would be here so I couldn't resist..."

-"I'm sure Tomoyo will be thrilled to know you're here. I'm so happy to see you again, it's been such a long time!" She said hugging Yukito once more and it took Syaoran all the self control in the world not to tear them brutally apart.

-"I'm happy to see you too, you look amazing." Smiled Yukito making her blush; he looked at her with surprise, thinking that maybe his eyes or the light were playing tricks on him. "I'm glad... Although you need to start eating properly, you are way too skinny!" He started scolding her. "If Touya knew this, he would force fed you! By the way, he sent this for you when I visited him earlier." He continued giving her a strange looking whistle.

-"W-What is it?" Asked Sakura, still taken aback by the sudden scolding.

-"It's a custom-made rape whistle." Smiled Yukito with good humor. "He said that you should use it if a boy gets close, less than a mile of distance, that he will hear it no matter where you are."

-"You are lying to me!" Accused him Sakura that for a moment had believed him completely.

-"No, it really is! And he really told me that, but _I think _he was kind of joking... Anyways, it doesn't harm for you to have it on you. Especially since you are looking more beautiful each da-..."

-"H-how is Yue?" Cut him off Sakura, feeling awkward and embarrassed. Syaoran looked at her from the sidelines, he was feeling dumb for thinking that he was the only one that could make Sakura blush. "Is he with you?"

-"Yeah, he came to see me since I'm not staying here for long." Answered Yukito and his brow creased the slightest bit. "At least that is his excuse, he disappeared as soon as we got here. So much for missing his little brother."

-"I miss you bro." Came Yue's voice. "When you are out of the country." And that said, he too picked Sakura but unlike his brother, he picked her up princess style. "How's my lovely baby been?" He said rubbing his nose against Sakura's who launched her arms around him in a chocking hug. Syaoran was beside himself with outrage.

-"You are here too!" She said and her feet found the ground again. "You are such an uncaring pair of brothers! You leave for two years and don't even call!"

-"I've brought gifts to bribe forgiveness out of you." Smiled Yue. "I just have to get you to follow the trail of gifts to my hotel's room, there you'll find a tastier gif- !" Yue had received a punch in the stomach from his brother.

-"Don't mind him. I brought you better gifts, the kind that Touya would not _reap appart from their bodies_." He said the last looking reprovingly at his brother who just laughed.

-"I was just testing if Touya still got it. Where is he by the way? I thought he would be clearing the perimeter." Yue said looking at Syaoran. Sakura couldn't follow the conversation, her head bobbed from one side to the other with curiosity, Syaoran however understood enough to know that he hadn't go unnoticed.

-"Touya said he couldn't be here today." Said Yukito.

-"Shame, I guess I'll go see him tomorrow. I'm leaving in two days." Said Yue. "I already gave Tomoyo my wedding gift."

-"You are leaving so soon?" Complained Sakura.

-"I'm afraid so, I faked sickness at work. I bribed my family doctor but it can only last a couple of days." Explained Yue.

-"Then I'll give my gift to Tomoyo too." Said Yukito.

-"Are you leaving too?" Asked Sakura, feeling betayed.

-"No, I told you I'm staying a little longer. So we will see each other around at the agency but they are sending me somewhere after." Told her Yukito.

-"Then just say no! Tomoyo does..." Urged Sakura.

-"Tomoyo is planning a wedding. Besides, who will ship designer's clothes to you if I don't go. They are chick and free." Tried to sweet talk her Yukito but only managed to make her pout.

-"Could this be real? Is this what you call a date?" Asked Yue who had wondered around Syaoran and was analizing him. He started smelling Syaoran, who didn't really know what to do, when Sakura turned to see Yue and with a gasp, smacked him away from her date.

-"Who is he, Sakura?" Asked Yukito curiously, he had noticed Syaoran before but he did not ask, trying to spare Sakura from embarrassement. Yue who was less discreet couldn't help himself and had given in to curiosity.

-"He's... He's..."Cowered Sakura trying to find a good description of what Syaoan was in her life without sounding like she was having a fling or scaring Syaoran away.

-"I'm Eriol's cousin, Syaoran Lee." Saved her Syaoran but then pulling her by the waist so that she would be next to him, he said: "We are dating, aren't we?"

The brothers looked surprised but not angry, they exchanged a look in silence; There was no way they would be the ones breaking the news to _her_ brother, no matter how close they were to the family. Touya had better find out when Sakura elopped or something...

-"You look great together." Said Yukito smiling at Sakura's crimson cheeks.

-"You better watch out..." Warned Yue in a whisper. Syaoran wasn't sure but it had sounded more as concern rather than a threat. The two brothers left short afterwards and Sakura stared at her date.

-"What? Are you angry about something?" Asked Syaoran disoriented by her glares.

-"Are... Are we? Dating, I mean... Are we?" She asked now looking at him with fear mingled with a pinch of hope.

-"What kind of man do you think I am?" He asked acting insulted. "Am I the kind of guy that enters a woman's room if I wasn't dating her?" He went on, pulling her towards him until their foreheads touched and then a thought came to Sakura.

-"How did you know where to come?" She asked. "I forgot to tell you the address!"

Syaoran laughed, he had thought that Sakura would never notice.

-"Because this is the hotel I'm staying in." He answered simply.

-"You are staying? Here?" She said shocked. "But you are here for a year! This hotel is really expensive!"

-"I'm looking for better options but there aren't many...pleasant ones" Admitted Syaoran.

-"Yeah, looking for a good place is hard right now." Agreed Sakura.

-"You mean, looking for a good, affordable place is hard." Said Syaoran. They both stayed quiet. Syaoran could see they were both wondering about the same things. It was clear that Sakura was debating whether to invite a complete stranger to live with her even if they were dating... They only knew each other two days. Syaoran decided not to push his luck and changed the subject. They continued meeting many of Sakura's friends. Eriol didn't have as much guests as Tomoyo and the little he had were their collegues so Syaoran didn't have much people that he wanted to mingle with. He wondered after Sakura looking around, distracted by his own thoughts.

-"They are really an odd mix." Thought Syaoran aloud.

-"Who?" Asked Sakura with curiosity.

-"Those two." He said pointing at his cousin and her friend slow dancing and whispering at each other's ears. "They look happy, don't they?"

-"They do." Sighed Sakura. "Tomoyo always had bad taste in man."

-"And Eriol a good one in women." Laughed Syaoran making her smile at her friend being spoken of so kindly. "That's why I think they are an odd couple, they have very different tastes."

-"Mmmm... But they are both nosey and gossipy... Don't let Tomoyo fool you, they are both really old fashioned when it comes down to it." Pondered Sakura aloud. "She's the type that still thinks a guy should carry a handkerchief at all times."

-"Is that so? She really does have bad taste in men... Who wants to carry around a snot-filled handkerchief in his pocket all day long?" Joked Syaoran making Sakura laugh. "Although, if it meant carrying a little bit of you with me, I wouldn't mind as much." He whispered getting extremely close to her.

-"Sneaky man!" Accused Sakura pushing him lightly away. "You better not remember me by snotty souvenirs!"

-"I'm the sneaky one? Who's the woman who kissed me for two days and still would not call me her boyfriend infront of her friends?" Asked Syaoran and he was satisfied to see Sakura colored and speechless. "Plus she gets hugged every five minutes by different men."

-"I do not!" Exclaimed Sakura.

-"You do too. I think I deserve a kiss for the admirable patience I've shown today." Teased Syaoran getting closer again but to his surprise Sakura did kiss him.

The kiss had not gone unnoticed; Not too far from them, Eriol and Tomoyo were distracted from their lovey-dovey mood by it. They were both really curious about the new couple but after discussing it with each other, they had decided to let them be for the moment.

-"I wish I could know more about him... I know he's your cousin but he is not staying, right? I don't think Sakura is ready for more separations just yet..." Worried Tomoyo.

-"Syaoran is a really great guy and we don't know what could happen in a year. This is good for him too. He left _work_ undone for her! Do you have the slightest idea of what _I_ would have to do if I made him lose a minute of work time? He would skinned me alive and make me do a thousand times double the amount of work I made him miss." Said Eriol.

-"Still! I should meet him. He's gonna be my cousin in law, right? He should know a thing or two about what would happen to him if he hurts her." Complained Tomoyo.

-"He wouldn't, he knows what would happen to him. I told him what I would do." Said Eriol in an attempt to calm her down. Tomoyo pondered what her fiance had said and was a little satisfied but suddenly a better idea popped into her head making her gasp.

-"We should go on a double date with them!" She said.

-"Sakura would never agree to that." Said Eriol

-"She agreed to a date with him next saturday, we just have to know where and bump into them!" She explained excitedly.

-"That could definitely work!" Agreed Eriol in on the plan already. "I'm sure I can get Syaoran to tell me where he's taking her, he would never think I would drop in on his date."

They both celebrated their evil plan and didn't worry about the couple for the rest of the night. Not even, when they saw them leave the party together.

Sakura could barely stay awake but she didn't want to show him her drooling self yet again in such a short amount of time so she focused on keeping her eyes open all the way home. This only made her look surprised, which confused Syaoran for a while before he caught her yawning. He almost laughed but returned his eyes to the road instead.

-"What's so funny?" Asked Sakura curiously. He had contained the laughter but there was a smile dancing on his lips.

-"Nothing, are you tired? You can recline your seat and sleep until we get there." He offered.

-"I'm not tired." She lied sheepishly and she looked out of the window containing yet another yawn.

-"It's a shame, you look really pretty when you sleep." He tried to convince her but she only blushed and ignored him. Nevertheless, by the time they got to her place, she was snoozing peacefully; It made him feel bad when it was time to wake her up. Sakura stretched her arms and caught Syaoran by the neck pulling him in a kiss. He had just tried to carry her out of the car but he wasn't about to say no to a kiss from her. "Honey, we are home." He said softly on her lips still awkwardly caught by her arms. She fluttered her eyes a couple of times before she fully woke up and pushed him away.

-"Where are we?" She asked to the man she had just thrown on her driveway.

-"Well, I'm on the floor." He said resentful. Sakura apologized getting out of the car and helpping him up. "It's a good thing you weren't tired, God knows what would have happened to me then!" Teased Syaoran walking her to her door.

-"I said I'm sorry." She complained.

-"I'll forgive you on one condition." He said and Sakura waited for the condition hoping it was a kiss. "You'll never lie to me again." He said and seeing she was going to deny it, he gave her a warning look.

-"Fine!" She said pouting. "Then you don't lie to me again too!"

Syaoran looked at her shocked, had she found out? But how?

-"When did I?" He asked fearfully.

-"When you said I looked pretty sleeping." She accused. Syaoran laughed despite himself and hugged her.

-"But you do look pretty all the time." Said Syaoran while trying to forget the guilt. He did care for her, he didn't want to hurt her but he couldn't stay with her forever. There was work, the company and his mother...

-"You are lying again!" Said Sakura outraged and Syaoran caught her in his arms.

-"It's not a lie, we just have different tastes. You have bad tastes and I have the greatest ones." He said kissing her happily. They stayed in each other's arms ignoring the cold air of the early morning.

-"Stay here." Said Sakura after a while.

-"It's pretty late already, you need to sleep properly." He said stealing kisses from her.

-"I meant... live here. You know, f-for the year." She said nervously. "I have spare rooms and you don't have to pay rent. It's better than a hotel room anyways and... and... you can think about it. If you run out of options..."

Syaoran was speechless, somewhere in the back of his mind he had wished he'd fail. Yet, just thinking he would live one year with her, under the same roof was enough to fade away all his doubts.

-"On one condition." He said smiling mischieviously.

-"What?" She asked with concern.

-"I get half of your room..."

.

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	5. Chapter 5

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**Chapter Five**

**Grasping At Straws**

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Syaoran stared blankly at the time table pinned to a wall on the kitchen. He had thought living with her would be the easiest thing ever, he had not realized that he would first have to make _her_ live with him. The first time he saw her schedule, he thought it was a joke so he asked her about it. Truth was, Sakura followed that thing like a bible. She had for four years now, Syaoran was beside himself...

_"How could a person...? How...? What? I've seen her do it for a week but four years? really, four years? I feel exhausted just from watching one week..."_ He thought while trying to remember how the week had gone by...

Sakura had one main work place, the modeling agency where Tomoyo and her brother's friend [Yukito] worked. She worked there as a secretary from monday to thursday from five to eleven and twice or thrice a week she stayed for the graveyard shift. On friday, she worked only a half shift from five to nine. Monday and Wednesday, she worked at a retirement center from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. She studied part time at University and only had classes Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in the mornings. She worked at the University's library before her classes and during her long breaks she helped at the cafe for tips. She also tutored two of her classmates for one hour each on Fridays after her class, before leaving for the agency. She usually got home relatively earlier on Fridays but it hadn't been the case this week, the club where she worked on call as a barmaid had called and of course, she had said yes! Syaoran had no idea at what time she had come home, he had waited for her but had fallen asleep on the kitchen's table where he had slept all week staring at her schedule... He knew she woke up late on the week-ends and seriously, who could blame her? Yet, as per the damn thing, she had to work a full shift on Saturdays starting from 7 p.m. at a nearby diner and Sundays, she worked the early shift at the same diner and then she had Sunday evenings to herself. Plus on the Saturday's morning space, she had vaguely written down something about house chores...

Syaoran forced himself to stand up, he went to look for her and sure enough, he found her sleeping soundly on the couch still wearing her very revealing barmaid's "uniform". He sighed and carried her to her room,he was getting used to this activity too. He lay down beside her and Sakura opened her eyes on the darkness of her room and saw Syaoran staring at the ceiling.

-"How did I get here?" She asked drowsily.

-"You know? I've been asking myself the same thing all week: How _did_ you get here?" He said jokingly although he was being very serious.

-"I meant my room." She grumbled rolling on her side and hugging him. He caressed her hair distractedly.

-"I'm guessing our date is off." He said after a while.

-"Crap! I forgot." She said sitting down on the bed.

-"Forget it, just sleep." He protested pulling her close to him once more.

-"I can't sleep, the house is a mess. I have to clean." She whined like a kid.

-"There's nothing to clean, you barely make it from the couch to the front door and vice versa." He said hugging her tighter so that she would not escape. "You know what wouldn't be such a bad idea? It would be to fill that fridge with this year's food. I think I found a carton of milk that's been there since the Edo period."

-"They didn't have cartons of milk back then." Growled Sakura but she knew he was right about the out of date food.

-"You don't know that." Insisted Syaoran, he felt like fighting with her a little... He felt abandoned, this wasn't how it was supposed to be.

-"I'm sorry... I'll get up and take a shower, we can go buy food after. I need to get some for Kero anyways."

-"The cat... You pay more attention to the cat than me. Wow!" Said Syaoran resentfully.

-"Are you jealous of a stray? Really?" She teased him but Syaoran was way too hurt to care if he was being unreasonable or childish. "Don't pout, the cat can't survive without me." She complained trying to make him look her way.

-"And I can?" He asked pinning her to the bed.

-"Can't you?" She replied unimpressed. He kissed her with all the desire he had been building up during that first exhausting week.

-"Can you?" He retorted wittingly leaving the room and stealing the shower.

-"YOU SNEAKY MAN!" She yelled at him from her bed but his laugh was the only reply she got.

Sakura heard the water running and she wanted nothing more than to be there with him but she could never be so bold as to follow him in the shower. She would have to wait so she started looking for clothes to change into while waiting for the shower to be freed from Syaoran's perfectly shaped body...

-"Never mind that." She mumbled to herself and was almost completely undressed when Syaoran poked his head into the room.

-"Are you coming or what?" He asked ignoring her scream of horror.

-"W-What are you...? Get out!" She protested trying to cover herself with the tiny uniform she had just taken off.

-"Never mind that." He said picking her up and carrying her to the bathroom. "I've seen you already, you know?" He teased her throwing her uniform out of the way and leaning in for a kiss. "Did you drank last night?" He asked stopping, he had thought he had smelled alcohol before but she was a barmaid so that was a given.

-"I didn't pay for it." She tried to defend herself.

-"Who did then?" He asked now feeling insulted. Sakura sighed.

-"Don't get mad again. I'm a barmaid, people pay me drinks all the time. How else would I go through the night serving drunk people without going insane?" She asked while hugging him, pressing her breasts against his chest.

-"This isn't over yet." Protested Syaoran giving in to her antics. He pulled her up, her legs twisting around his torso and he entered the shower.

It took them a while to get ready for their shopping. They were still kissing when they got to his car.

-"By the way, why don't you ever use your car? It would save you time"

-"Huh? Oh, that car! It's broken, I had forgotten that it's still sitting there. I'm sure it can be fixed, It's just not in my budget to pay a mechanic to do something that I'm sure I can learn how to do myself..."

-"But that you will never do because you don't have the time to learn how to do it or to do it." Lectured Syaoran starting his car. "I'll take a look at it. You seriously need to take some time off work."

-"Says Mr. Workaholic." Joked Sakura

-"Let's not talk about woraholics here. At least, my schedule makes sense to other human beings." Replied Syaoran while they got out of the driveway.

Meanwhile, in another part of town, Eriol hung up the phone feeling betrayed. How was he supposed to tell Tomoyo? She would kill him or worst, she would leave him... His aunt had to hire more personnel if they had to drag _him_ from one corner of the world to the other every few months. Tomoyo chose that wonderful moment to enter the room, she was carrying a cup of coffee and a beautiful smile that wasn't gonna last long on her lips.

-"What's wrong? Did you not find out where Sakura's date will be?" She asked sitting down besides him.

-"No... but that is kind of the least of my problems right now..." He said fearfully and he knew that instant that Tomoyo had guessed the reason why he was like that.

-"AGAIN?!" She yelled at him. "Can you just say no? I do!"

-"I know you do honey but I can't." He apologized.

-"Why can't you? What's keeping you? Besides, have you any idea how many times I've unsent wedding invitations? It's becoming an inside joke!" She ranted.

-"Honey, you can't 'unsent' somethi-"

-"Do not lecture me about what I can or can't do or I swear I will make you feel pain you never thought existed before!" She snap at him. Eriol cowered and listened to the rest of her lecture in proper silence.

-Now answer me!" She finished almost out of breath.

-"I can't because... Because I can't let Syaoran take the hit for me again." He admitted.

-"What do you mean?" She asked too surprised to remember that she was still angry. Eriol sighed.

-"Remember two years ago when I told you that the England branch could do just fine without me...?" Asked Eriol shyly.

-"Yes..." Answered Tomoyo threateningly.

-"I-I wasn't _completely _lying. It did survive without me, do remember that too." He urged.

-"So, what does your cousin have to do with anything?" She insisted.

-"Well... I kind of told someone what I was planning to do, I didn't told Syaoran cause he would have made me go... he can be scary, you know..."

-"Eriol! Stop stalling!" She yelled at him losing patience fast.

-"Fine! That b*** ratted me out. She told him everything. I thought he would kill me, I seriously thought that he would! So I hid from him for a year, I had no idea he would actually cover for me. He managed both the England and the China HQs for a year until my aunt found out. She kind of let me go easy, she only wanted me to get up to date and quite honestly, Syaoran kept everything well managed. He kept a good balance until one tiny deal went wrong and my aunt started hunting for fresh blood... She was so angry, she threw him out of the family home and transfered him to the less succeful branch of the company [Japan's] without a penny and only a minimum wage salary to survive. He has a year to improve Japan's branch or she will make him mop the floors of the Main office for the rest of his life. So I kind of owe him... big time..." He confessed.

-"But why doesn't he just leave? He doesn't have to do everything his mother-..." Tomoyo stopped mid-sentence because Eriol was shaking his head in defeat.

-"Syaoran would never leave the company even if it meant mopping floors for the rest of his life."

-"How could you do this to him?!" Lectured him Tomoyo punching him on the arm.

-"I didn't know! I'm sorry! I'm paying for it too, aren't I? This is the fourth time she cancels our wedding. I'm sure she plans it!" Eriol caught Tomoyo's punches looking sincerely sorry. Her heart gave up, she had already forgiven him anyways.

-"At least you know how many times you've cancelled on me. How much time this time?" She asked.

-"Maybe two months?" He said tentatively.

-"TWO?"

-"I'll try to finish before then." He promised. "Am I dumped?" He asked with fear.

-"No..." Said Tomoyo resigned. "But you are punished!"

-"I'll take punishement any time." He teased getting closer to her.

-"Good! Start unsending invitations and unrenewing our engagement." She said coldly and left the room. Eriol sighed and flopped on his couch again, it would take a miracle for Tomoyo to never bring this one up in all their fights...

.

-"Sakura, what exactly is this for?" Asked a very confused Syaoran.

-"You are kidding, right? What are you? A priviledged Kid?" Sakura teased him taking the new filter for the vacuum cleaner from his hands. Syaoran colored but refused to admit defeat trying to get the object back for examination. Sakura laughed, happy to be the one teasing for once. "You look pretty with that shade of pink."

-"You don't want to play tyrant with me, I'll make you regret it later." He threatened snatching the object from her and focusing all his being on finding out what the damn thing was. Sakura let him be, dragging him by his shirt all around the supermarket.

-"It's a part of something bigger." She gave him a clue, taking pity on him after half an hour of intensely staring at the round filter. "Don't smash it! You are focusing too hard, it's a really simple object." She lectured.

-"Don't tell me!" He complained stubbornly. "I-I think I've seen this before."

-"Doubt it." She mocked him."It's not something you usually see."

-"I said not to tell me!" He protested once more.

-"You are being childish, just put it on the cart already."

-"No!"

-"You want me to sit you on the baby seat while you hold that, honey?" She teased again. Syaoran ended up throwing the filter inside the cart, looking red and resentful. Sakura sighed feeling guilty, she catch up to him and whispered the answer in his ear, kissing his neck afterwards. She then flee the scene trying not to think too hard about her actions. A minute later, Syaoran's arms catched her waist and he hid his face on her neck while they went on around the store.

-"People are looking." She complained embarrassed.

-"So? Do I embarrass you?"

-"You just want to fight with me, don't you?" She accused and he answered with silence. "What's it gonna take for you to let this go?" She insisted.

-"Let what go?" He asked still hiding his face on her neck.

-"What are you doing? Stop that, it tickles... Syaoran!" She complained and scolded but nothing worked. Syaoran was not letting go.

-"Stay home with me tonight." He finally replied.

-"I already told you that I can't, I have to work at seven." She reminded him.

-"If I find you a replacement... will you stay?" He asked thinking fast.

-"No, I need the money."

-"The money will go to you."

-"Then it's not fair to the other person."

-"This person doesn't deserve fairness. Besides, He and I have a history."

-"Should I be jealous?" She joked.

-"You should always be jealous, I'm a great catch." He answered on the same tone.

-"Aren't you spoilt. Fine! _If _you get a replacement, I promise I'll stay at home tonight." She said convinced that not even Syaoran could find someone in such a short amount of time. Syaoran finally let go of her and took out his cellphone. Sakura watch him walk farther away from her, obviously this was a conversation he didn't want her to hear.

Syaoran waited patiently for this person to pick up the phone... Sakura had gone somewhere else, looking for lady products that she didn't want him to see... He smiled evily, she was just so easy to tease... He should definitely hurry and bump into her there...

_-"What do you want?"_ Answered Eriol's voice.

-"Is that a proper way to pick up the phone? What took you so long?" Scolded Syaoran.

_-"The number you have dialed is currently out of service, please hung up."_ Replied Eriol.

-"It's too late for that." Protested Syaoran.

_-"Please leave a message after the beep. Beeeeeeeep!"_

-"Listen, I need you to do me a little favor." Continued Syaoran ignoring his cousin's attempts to make him hung up.

_-"No can do. You already owe me two, remember? Can you really afford to owe me three? Even if it's a little, tiny one" _Answered Eriol finally giving up on the jokes.

-"This is an emergency. I- I haven't seen Sakura all week." Said Syaoran while he kept ignoring Eriol's replies. He wasn't entirely liying, he had barely seen Sakura all week. Eriol just didn't know that they [Syaoran and Sakura] were living under the same roof. They had both decided that if any of their friends found out, they would probably freak out... After all, they had only met a week ago...

_-"I'm sure she is still alive, she just overworked herself again. Besides, I thought you guys had a date tonight so you'll see her there."_

-"How do you know I have a date with her? I didn't told you."

_-"CRAP! T-That... Tomoyo told me... Is not like I care or anything..." _Said Eriol.

-"Sure... well... whatever." replied Syaoran, not convinced at all. "I'm actually calling about the date."

_-"What? Need some moral support? Cause Tomoyo and I are cool with double dates." _Proposed Eriol almost desperate.

-"That's just gross, keep your fetishes to yourself! Now, pay attention. I need you to replace Sakura at her work. It's at 7 p.m. at the diner around the old kid's park with the freaking penguins."

_-"No way! You call me to insult me then you want to make me work on a saturday on top of it all? What am I getting out of this?" _Complained Eriol

-"You are getting a very happy cousin! She said she would go to the date if I found her a replacement." Insisted Syaoran.

-"Are you sure she is not just letting you down easy?" Whined Eriol. _"I'm not wasting my time on you..." _

-"Yes, I am sure. We are doing just fine... It's that damn thing hanging on her kitchen's wall. It has completely brain-washed her."

_-"Oh, you saw the schedule." _Laughed Eriol. _"Good luck with that, it's none of my bussiness. Good bye."_

-"Do not force me to do it Cous'... You are not gonna like it!" Warned Syaoran threateningly.

_-"What are you gonna do? Tell your mom? Good luck with that too." _Mock him Eriol.

-"Speaking of my mom, don't you owe me something? _For life?_" Reminded him Syaoran and he could hear Eriol chocking on the other side.

_-"Y-You said you'd never use that against me..." _Accused Eriol.

-"Like I said, this is an emergency and I did give you a warning. Now, say that you'll do it properly and give her all the pay." Syaoran ordered.

_-"It's not fair, I didn't ask you to... Besides... Ugh! Damn you! You can't use this ever again, if I do this then you lose -it-" _Bargained Eriol.

-"What?! I got desinherited for life because of you, how can this be all I get for it? You are really ungrateful! There's no way! I may need you to babysitt her jobs once in a while." Ranted Syaoran.

_-"I won't! I 'm leaving for England for two month anyways so find yourself another sitter."_

-"You have too! You already said you would!"

_-"I did not! I'll only go this once. After that, my debt will be paid."_

-"So much for family! Fine, Just don't mind if I end up loveless on top of penniless because of you..."

_-"Oh, you are so low..." _Criticized him Eriol.

-"I'm counting on you tonight. You know, because I owe you so much. Thanks to you my life is so much better now and I don't have to worry about tomorrow. You... You are a hero, you are a real hero Eriol. I'm glad you are my cousin." Said Syaoran pretending to be moved by his cousin's service.

_-"STOP THAT! I said I would go! You wouldn't even know Sakura if it wasn't for me!"_

-"I would have met her anyways!" Laughed Syaoran and hung up. He hurried to where Sakura was, he saw her scratching her head and looking at a relatively new _monthly_ product.

-"That one's new but quite popular." He said looking over her shoulder.

-"But is it any good?"She asked turning around but then realizing who had just spoken she almost yelled in horror. "What are you doing here?! And how do you even know about this?" She lectured him embarrassed yet outraged.

-"I have five older sisters." He said shrouding his shoulders. "They are not as discreet as you are. How else do you think I achieved flawless skin? This look didn't happen willingly" He joked but Sakura had noticed before that his skin was abnormlly well taken care of for a man. "Who do you think they boss around like a servant every month? I'm not proud of it but I probably know their cycle better than they do..."

-"They must like you a lot." She smiled, happy to learn a little about his family.

-"I don't know if they like me but I am an easy target for them since I am the only man in the house. Or I was... They'll be just fine without me anyways, there's my step-father now too so they can boss him around in my absence."

-"I'm sure it's not the same..." She said with some sadness.

-"What about your brother? I heard he's the jealous type." Syaoran said, guessing her thoughts were travelling in that direction.

-"Touya? Jealous?" She laughed. "He doesn't really care much about me, he just liked to pick fights with me when we lived together. Anyways, he doesn't think there's much to be jealous of."

-"I wouldn't be so sure about that..." Replied Syaoran, Sakura looked at him curiously but he just smiled. She was so cute and naive, that older brother had a terrible reputation of being a boyfriend tracker... From what he gathered at the engagement party, in Sakura's highschool years, her brother had posted a threatening message on all the men's rooms warning boys against approaching his little sister and apparently, each time this rule was broken, the said pretender curiously disappeared for a week and came back completely brained-washed...That is how Touya had become a legend... Syaoran was actually surprised that her brother wasn't on to him yet. They were not being at all discreet. "I think he probably spoilt you too much." Teased Syaoran.

-"He didn't spoilt me at all! He's a demon older brother! He's bossy and cruel and calls me names all the time!"

-"But can you count on him?" He insisted and Sakura sighed in defeat.

-"I guess I can... He comes through in an emergency." She admitted.

-"Then he is not so bad." He comforted her. She went on with her shopping, feeling shy and Syaoran followed her throwing stuff in their cart that they didn't really need.

-"Stop it!" Scolded Sakura for the fourth time this happened.

-"I'm paying for it." Complained Syaoran.

-"We don't need this, is not healthy."

-"It's healthy for me, I need it."

They glared at each other.

-"I'll even give you some." He offered.

-"I don't want it!"

-"Come on, I know you have a sweet tooth, you are just on denial..." Insisted Syaoran, Sakura blushed but kept on fighting in vain to leave the candy behind. Half an hour later, they walked out of the store, Syaoran hugging triumphantly his bag of candy. "Sure you don't want some?"

-"Yes!" She said coldly getting on the car without even helping him load the groceries to the trunk. Syaoran smiled smugly all the way home but after two hours, seeing that her anger wasn't appeased, he offered to cook lunch in compensation.

-"Don't bother, just cook something for yourself. I have work." She sighed, finally letting go of her anger.

-"Didn't I tell you? I found you a replacement." He told her cheerfully.

-"Y-You did? Who?" She asked surprised. "Are you lying to me?"

-"You can call your workplace if you don't believe me, I already told them too. Your replacement will be there at seven sharp, they know him so it's not a problem and you will stay home sick because you fainted from exhaustion yesterday."

-"I did not!" She yelled shocked.

-"Well, they don't need to know, it's a white lie." He laughed.

-"My boss knows this person? Who is it?" She asked curiously.

-"Eriol." Admitted Syaoran. "He promised to be on his best behaviour." Sakura looked like she wanted to protest so Syaoran went on. "You promised! I found a replacement so you stay home with me."

-"Fine! Then dinner's on you too." She said flopping on the couch and falling asleep again. Syaoran closed the curtains, not without noticing her neighbour spying from the other side. He frowned, that deviant had better not be spying on her last night... He hesitated between crossing the street and giving him a piece of his mind but Sakura would probably not like that. He looked at her sleep for a while, then looked around at the house, he hated house chores... But she looked really tired, she could have easily fainted from exhaustion at any time... If he didn't do it, she would probably spent the evening doing it herself and ignoring their date-day time... He sighed with resignation, he had moved in for all the advantages but while he dusted and vaccumed and cleaned bathrooms and took out trash... He couldn't conjured one single advantage. He went on with preparing lunch...

-"Or should I call it brunch?" He asked the cat who was eating nearby. Kero still had his doubts about his new master but he had given him food so he put up with him. His mistress was at home more often too since that stranger came into the house, so Kero was less wary of him than at the begining. He miaowed pleasantly back at him.

-"Do you also speak cat?" Came Sakura's drowsy voice seconds before she appeared at the kitchen's door.

-"Just a little." Joked Syaoran. "Did you sleep well?"

-"Mmm, it was perfect." She said hugging herself to his back. Syaoran went on with cooking with Sakura latched onto him. "Is food almost ready?" She asked with bore.

-"I just got started." He answered distractedly.

-"Wanna take a break?" She insisted.

-"Then I'll be done by tomorrow... Where do you keep the salt?"

-"I'll help you cook later..."

-"Aren't you hungry?" He asked confused.

-"Oh, I am." She said in a tone that implied more as her hand infiltrated under his shirt. He stopped, catching on and turned around.

-"Do you have a fever?" He joked touching her forehead. She ignore him and stood on her toes trying to catch his mouth. He suddenly remembered all the advantages of living there and lift her onto one of the kitchen's counters. She pulled him closer to herself with her legs while he kissed her neck again, going farther down this time. She caressed his hair, massaging his head. They kissed a little longer while their hands were all over each other.

-"Wanna take this upstairs?"

-"Mmm... I'll take it anywhere." He answered picking her up from the counter and making her laugh.

-"Syaoran, I'm gonna fall!"

-"I got you babe" He answered while they kissed, struggled with their clothes and tried to find the staircase. They finally settle for the couch laughing like kids and kissing like sex addicts.

DING DONG!

-"OH! This couch is seriously unlucky! Let's throw it out!" Complained Syaoran letting himself fall on the floor. Sakura laughed still stretched on the couch.

-"Let's let it ring, they will go away." She proposed following him to the floor and sitting on top of him.

-"Mmmm... I like how you think, great minds do think alike." He said rolling around to be on top of her again. "Ready for some fun?" He teased and loved the way she moaned and bit her lower lip in response. They were closing in for the starting kiss when the doorbell went berserker once more.

-"This better not be, Mr. Peep." Threatened Syaoran letting himself fall next to Sakura.

-"His name is Mr. Peek, honey and why would he come here?" Laughed Sakura resting her chin on his chest, using her hands as cushions.

-"Cause he likes to ruin fun." Said Syaoran sighing when the bell rang insistently again.

-"I should go see who it is." Complained Sakura resigned to leaving fun behind.

-"You wait here, I will not have _Mr. Peek _getting a peek at this." He said unbuttoning the last button of her blouse and kissing her belly. He then stood up and went to the door, his jeans were still on, his shirt was stretched to no repair and he was sure he had kiss marks all over his neck and that was not mentioning the light scratch marks on his back from that morning. But maybe this look would make the person on the other side go away sooner. To his surprise, on the other side awaited Sakura's best friend who looked beyond shocked to see him there.

-"Sak-? Who? Where's Sakura?" Asked Tomoyo, this was defenitely not what she had expected when she decided to visit her friend. There was a half naked god standing on the doorway to welcome her, she had to remind herself that she was very much in love and engaged.

-"She-" Tried answering Syaoran but Sakura chose that moment to hug him and poke her head from behind him.

-"Who is it, hon-TOMOYO!?" She yelled mid-sentence and shut the door. "Hurry, she will cross examine you if you don't hide." Urged Sakura putting her clothes right and trying to do the same for her boyfriend.

-"She already saw me, shouldn't we open the door? You just slam it on her face."

-"You are not ready for this, she is really sharp!" Insisted Sakura.

-"Calm down." Laughed Syaoran. "You are not a kid, we are not doing anything wrong." He said kissing her. "I'll put a new shirt on, just open the door."

-"If you change, she'll know." Stopped him Sakura.

-"From a shirt?" He asked amused by his girlfriend's panic.

-"Sharp as an eagle!" Sing-songed Sakura.

-"Fine! Let's just let her in." He sighed opening the door once more. Tomoyo didn't look too impressed, she stepped inside without waiting for an invitation and sat herself on the darkness of the living room, looking around for something. Sakura followed her and sat in penitence on the floor. Syaoran wasn't really sure of what was going on but just followed and copied Sakura.

-"So..." Started speaking Tomoyo. "This room is clean..."

-"I-I cleaned it up today. It's saturday, remember?" Said Sakura nervously.

-"It's not Sakura-clean." Replied Tomoyo coldly. "_He_ cleaned this."

Syaoran stood in awe, how the heck did she figure that out? Was she feinting?

-"The question is, why is _he_ doing _your_ house chores?"

-"What? He... he was just helping out..." Confessed Sakura.

-"It seems he was more than helpful." Lectured Tomoyo giving Syaoran a glacial and sweeping look. Sakura blushed and pouted.

-"I'm an adult..." Mumbled Sakura discontented. "You are being rude!"

-"Rude? You almost broke my nose with your door! I'm being lenient!" Scolded her Tomoyo, feeling outraged. She had gone out to look for her beautiful and innocent best friend and instead she found this half naked adult indecently hugging a hot but unknown intruder. "Is he living here?" She asked fast.

-"He is not!" Answered Sakura equally fast.

-"Are you?" Tomoyo asked Syaoran turning towards him faster than what he thought possible.

-"Wha-? No!" He answered trying to keep calm. Sakura was avoiding eye contact and he was lost in what to do. It was like sitting infront of his mother... Maybe Eriol had a crush on his mom, he had always thought that Eriol's fear of her was weird...

-"Mmmm..." Was Tomoyo's reply, still not fully convinced. "Why were you cleaning?"

-"I just wanted to free Sakura's schedule for tonight." He answered without hesitation, that much was true.

-"Are you guys dating?" Went on Tomoyo with the flash questions.

-"We are."

-"Does she sleep on the left or the right side of the bed."

-"She sleeps all over it." Answered Syaoran amused ignoring Sakura's glare.

-"So you've slept together?"

-"Didn't I just implied that?"

-"Do you always answer with questions or just when you are nervous?"

-"Do you always ask things this fast or just when you are feinting?"

Tomoyo and Syaoran glared at each other.

-"You taught her the adult trick." She accused him

-"It's not a trick when she is an adult." Syaoran answered on his own defense.

-"My Sakura is very naive and needs protection against wolfish men like you."

-"It's _my_ Sakura now, and whatever protection she needs, I will provide."

-"You've got some nerve."

-"So do you."

Tomoyo frowned not wanting to admit defeat.

-"There's something Sakura doesn't know about a window, what would happen if she found out?" Restarted Tomoyo with the flash questions

-"She doesn't need to find out. I'm on to it, my tactic skills are better than Eriol's." Answered Syaoran. Sakura looked at both of them almost tired of the game, she couldn't even understand what they were saying anymore.

-"I'll be the judge of that." Concluded Tomoyo.

-"Did he passed? I'm getting hungry again." Complained Sakura. "And I've got a cramp on my leg..."

-"I'll let him live... for today." Answered Tomoyo but she was quite satisfied seeing Syaoran massaging her friend's injured leg.

-"What are you doing here Tomo?" Asked Sakura more relaxed than before. Syaoran realized with relief that the interrogation was over but he kept his guard up just in case.

-"Well, while you guys rolled around on the floor ruining other people's dates, I decided to visit my best friend before her date began but apparently, it has already been in process for a while now." Remarked Tomoyo looking disdainfully at the kiss mark on her best friend's neck. Sakura blushed but Syaoran looked unapologetic. "I'm free and not too happy either... Eriol is going back to England for two months so the wedding is off... again."

-"AGAIN?!" Yelled Sakura. "Does he seriously want me to ship him back to England inside a coffin?!"

-"It's not his fault, there's not much he can do." Calmed her down Tomoyo. "Maybe we should just have a shotgun wedding." She sighed with sadness.

-"You should just invite my mother behind Eriol's back, she will not show up anyways so he will never find out. She will probably send a wedding gift though, so you should open the presents and never tell Eriol." Advised Syaoran.

-"Really? Is this why the wedding keeps getting cancelled?" Tomoyo asked surprised.

-"Most likely." Answered Syoran.

-"But Eriol said your mom hates weddings."

-"She does."

-"Then why?"

-"She likes Eriol." Explained Syaoran. "He's her only nephew. My aunt, her only sister, had no other children before she passed away. Eriol was raised by his father for a while until he fell off the grid and my mother brought Eriol to our house to live with us. She spoilt him rotten..."

-"That explains a lot." Joked Sakura.

-"I wonder why Eriol never told me about this." Thought Tomoyo out loud.

-"I think he's just embarassed of how spoilt he really is." Joked Syaoran. "Plus my mom is as bossy as he is. They have a personality clash going on."

Tomoyo sighted, she didn't want to lie to Eriol, it was the first time she was in a relationship in which she felt safe and loved... Would Eriol come to hate her if she did invite his aunt behind his back? On the other hand... If what Syaoran said was true, Eriol would never need to find out.

.

Meanwhile in another part of the big city, a different kind of scheme was forming inside the mind of a very disturbed and demonic older brother.

-"Daddy, you're gonna break it!" Cried Nadeshiko jumping up and down trying to reach for her doll.

-"Touya, hon. Give Shiko the doll, will you?" Called Nakuru putting on her highheel shoes.

-"Here, sorry." Said Touya giving back the toy to her daughter and hanging up the phone. Nadeshiko hugged her porcelain doll and ran away. "Are you going somewhere?" Ask Touya to his wife realizing that she was more dress up than usual.

-"I gotta drop some papers at the office and cut some interns' heads... They should know better than to mess with my weekends by now."

-"Go, give them hell." Encouraged her Touya kissing her goodbye.

-"Will you and the girls be fine?" Ask Nakuru looking for her keys.

-"Sure, I'll take them to the park later."

-"I don't want to hear about little boys getting hurt, alright?" Lecture Nakuru.

-"Don't worry, I'll keep the girls in check." Assure her Touya.

-"I was talking about you, watch yourself." Joked Nakuru.

-"When have I-" Began Touya feeling insulted. Nakuru shut him up with a kiss.

-"I'll be back before five, The three of you better behave and call Sakura!"

-"If she doesn't call first, I won't!" Complained Touya to the front door. He sat down on the livingroom thinking about the conversation he had had over the phone with his best friend's older brother. Yue was sush a pain in the ass, Touya couldn't trust a word he said... Yue was always trying to irritate him and he knew Touya's little sister was his weak point so he poked and tease him about the subject all the time but something Yue had insinuated this time was different from the usual. Touya wasn't sure what it was that make him feel so uneasy but he knew the feeling so well that he didn't need proof to know that there was a boy involved. He knew Nakuru was trying to keep him from intruding in his little sister's life and he had let her get away with her plans so far 'cause he himself thought it was unhealthy to be this concerned and after all, Nakuru was the only one who could keep him away from destroying his sister's love life...He knew Sakura needed to find happiness, especially after the accident and all but that didn't mean that just any bastard could come and take her away from him. There was no way his sister would be heart broken or abused or God knows what those deviants did to poor innocent girls nowadays. Stupid, horny highschool kids where nothing compared to college and university jerks in search of new experiences and that was not counting all the other men; teachers, deans, coworkers, men in general, there were all kinds of perverts out there and his Sakura was an extremely rare beauty in that dangerous, dangerous world full of horny beasts...

Maybe it had been too long since he had last visited her. If it was up to him, Sakura would be living with them, even Nakuru had thought it was an excellent idea yet this time, it was Sakura who had decided to stay away. She had decided to continue living in their parent's house and aside from letting him pay her University tuition once, she had refused all his help. In fact, the only reason she had accepted the tuition that first year alone was because Touya had been out of his mind with rage when he found out that she was planning on dropping out...

Touya felt that it was time to check on Sakura, he would have to keep Nakuru on the loop about it though. He just wanted to take a look, make sure she was doing fine, he wasn't going to mess with her life. He had grown, he had two daughters now, he had matured...

-"Who am I kidding? I'll kill the SOAB who dares touch any of them!"

-"Daddy, what is an SOAB?" Ask little two-year-old Ruby.

-"W-What? No, d-don't repeat what I said."

-"Daddy said SOAB!" Laughed Nadeshiko.

-"You are an SOAB." Laughed Ruby pointing at her sister and they both laughed repeating the acronym over and over again in celebration. Touya sighed, if Nakuru heard them, she would definitely kill him.

-"Daddy, can we visit aunty Saku? Mommy said we would!" Asked Nadeshiko.

-"Aunty Saku!" Approved Ruby jumping around him.

-"Mmm, you girls read my mind..." Agree Touya, an evil smirk crawling across his lips.

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TO BE CONTINUED...

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Hi, Is doki-dokiboo!

Well, of course it's me, who else would it be? I hope you're liking the story so far. I haven't finish writing it but I have a pretty clear idea of where I am heading with it so no worries. I don't know how long the story will be yet but I'm sure it will not be as long as the other one that I'm writing in spanish so again, no worries. So, I actually don't write stories in english that often so there may be some mistakes, please bear with me, I do double check and sometimes I triple check but still, I'm human and english is not my mothertongue. Also, I worry that my male characters come off as too femenine... lol The way they talk sometimes worries me, "do men say that kind of things?" That kind of feeling... Yet, when I write, it starts with an idea and the dialogue just flows so there's no much that I can do aside from changing some words here and there, sorry, I know that's half-ass, I will strive for perfection from now on... Well, I hope you enjoy reading this story and show it love, though you don't have to so don't feel preassured [I'm being honest, it's not an strategy, lol].

See ya in the next chapter! Peace!


	6. Chapter 6

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**Chapter Six**

**Endangered**

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_"I must be the unluckiest man alive... Well, I may not be so alive for long... How could an evening turn so very dangerously wrong? Yet, I was happy that day when it all began, I was honest to God happy. Until her mother/friend visited us... That was a turn for the wrong. But then this... this is definitely a turn for the worst! How did I even get here? Where is this anyway?"_ Thought Syaoran whilst carrying two tons of wood on his back, up a freazing, storm-baffled mountain...

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It all started like so:

Tomoyo was satisfied with her best friend's taste in men. She stayed with them for a while, talked and laughed with them and at last, let them to continue with their stay-home-all-day date in time to visit Eriol on his break. Sakura was glad that they had taken Tomoyo's flash attack out of their path to happiness, she sighed closing the door behind her best friend.

-"I can believe we survived that." She said letting herself slide down against the door. Syaoran laughed at her and helped her up. "I'm serious, it was horrible... Lately, being with Tomoyo just leaves me feeling exhausted."

-"I'm not sure Tomoyo is to blame. That barmaid job of yours could take the hit for all I know." Said Syaoran putting on an apron and going back to the kitchen.

-"Ugh if you didn't look so sexy to me right now, I would care to fight with you." Complained Sakura while following Syaoran to the kitchen.

-"Here, you did say you were gonna help me cook." He said handing her another apron.

-"What? But I didn't get any. That's not fair." Sakura continued with her complaints unaware of how inapropiate she was being. Syaoran couldn't help but smile at Sakura new found confidence, she could complain all she wanted but being with Tomoyo made her less inhibited.

-"Wanna cut the potatoes or slice the meat?" Insisted Syaoran focusing on the meal.

-"Do you want a slice of me?" Joked Sakura letting one of her shoulders show.

-"Ok, that's very bad." Mocked her Syaoran.

-"Well, I am a bad, bad girl." Sakura went on smiling cunnigly and getting closer to him.

-"That you are..." Joined in Syaoran forgetting the potatoes. They laughed almost dancing and twirling in each other's arms.

DING DONG!

-"Will we get peace someday?!" Growled Syaoran.

-"I wonder..." Sighed Sakura and she went to see who it was. As it turn out, it was Mr. Peek. Syaoran heard Sakura greeting him and rushed to her side. What in the world could that depraved old man want with his Sakura?

-"Oh, Syao, hon. This is my neighbour from across the street, you've seen each other I think, his name is Mr. Peek. Mr. Peek, this is Syaoran Lee, my b-boyfriend" Said Sakura, formally introducing them, yet still blushing at the _b_ word.

-"Nice to meet you." Said her neighbour extending a hand towards Syaoran. Syaoran was disgusted but shook his hand, perhaps using more force than required.

-"It is a pleasure." Answered Syaoran through gritted teeth. "What brings you here?" Asked Syaoran and received a soft punch from Sakura but he ignore it. He knew he was being rude, that was sort of the point.

-"Mr. Peek came to say hello since you just moved here." Said Sakura menacingly so that Syaoran would behave.

-"Oh, did he? What an _ass_tupendous neighbour you have." Answered Syaoran, not paying attention to his girlfriend's glaring looks. Mr. Peek seemed confused at their attitude.

-"Oh you are so sweet, isn't he sweet Mr. Peek? His an _ass_tounding boyfriend." Replied Sakura. Syaoran took the hint but instead of feeling threatened, he was amused.

-"Well, I was also wondering if you needed help shoveling the snow, it is going to snow again and it's no good to let it pile up." Said Mr. Peek sounding creepier by the minute to Syaoran's ears.

-"Oh, no. Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Thanks for asking, though. We are fine." Answered Sakura.

-"Yeah, We like to roll around in the snow. We love to roll around pretty much everywhere, really." Helped Syaoran and this time Sakura's punch wasn't quite so gentle.

-"He's joking, Thanks for coming by." Apologized Sakura.

-"No, it's not a problem. I worry, you know. I have a daughter your age, living alone is dangerous." Mr. Peek laughed nervously, his ears turning red.

-"Well, now we are two in the house so don't you worry anymore." Replied Syaoran with a fake pleasant tone.

-"Y-yeah, I guess... b-but lately t-there has been some housebreaking incidents in the neighbourhood so I'll keep an eye open for you kids." Said Mr. Peek shifting self-consciously on the doormat.

-"Oh, don't bother. We are getting cameras installed. Can never be too careful, right? If you wish we can point one at your house, neighbours got to watch out for one another." Syaoran smiled at the middle aged man with triumph.

-"A-ah tha-that's v-very nice, well bye." Replied the man making a run for his own house.

-"What was that all about?" Asked Sakura. "Since when are we getting cameras installed?"

-"Since your neighbourhood turned dangerous." Replied Syaoran smiling happily.

-"Nonsense, I've lived in this neighbourhood my whole live, it is the safest place on earth." Informed him Sakura.

-"But I will not take any risks when it comes to your safety, so cameras will be installed and the sooner, the better." Finished Syaoran with a kiss just as the doorbell rang again. "What does he want again?" Complained Syaoran.

-"Don't you fight with Mr. Peek. He hasn't done anything to you besides being a good neighbour and you are very rude to him." Sakura scolded him.

-"He creeps me out, he's way too much into his neighbours. It is not normal." Said Syaoran jokingly. He was being very serious but didn't want to scare her so he just put some doubts into her head. With some luck, she would be less open with her perverted neighbour and would not open the door to him so carelessly. The bell rang again, draining Syaoran from all patience. "Sorry, we were too busy rolling around!" He said while opening the door and in came running two very small and pretty humans that latched themselves onto Sakura, the third person at the door had turned into stone.

-"Aunty Saku!" Yelled Nadeshiko and Ruby turning round and round around their aunt, making her dizzy.

-"We missed you!" Yelled the eldest.

-"We very, very missed you so much!" Yelled the youngest and Sakura laughed hugging them in turns. Syaoran, now realizing who their visitors were, was as pale as Touya.

-"Wha- What are you guys doing here? Where is your mom?" Asked Sakura now a little worried.

-"Mommy is working, she had to bring hell to the office." Answered Nadeshiko.

-"We bringed daddy along. He said- he said we could read minds. Can you read minds, aunty Saku?" Asked Ruby curiously but Sakura wasn't listening anymore, she had noticed her older brother, frozen at the entrance door infront of her equally frozen boyfriend.

-"Touya? Why are you here?" Asked Sakura surprised by the sudden visit of her one and only brother.

-" What? What do you mean why?" Replied Touya unfreezing himself. "Do I need a reason for checking up on you? I'm your brother."

-"Some brother." Talk back Sakura. "I much rather Nakuru came with the girls."

-"You've got some nerve, monster. You dare to complain after making your ni-sama come all the way down here, you though I would call if you didn't, didn't you? Well, guess again." Said Touya poking at her forehead.

-"Ah! Ouch! Don't! You're the worst. Stupid demon brother!" Complained Sakura covering her face against his attack.

-"And may I know who this is and why are you rolling around with _it_?" Asked Touya glaring at Syaoran.

-"Huh? I-I roll around if I want. What is it to you?" Asked Sakura seriously ofended.

-"Don't talk back, you are a monkey. Monkeys don't speak. Now answer my questions." Demanded Touya.

-"Sorry, monkeys do not speak." Replied Sakura sticking out her tongue at him.

-"Hey, you. Who the hell are you?" Asked Touya to Syaoran.

-"Touya! Don't talk to him like that!" Scolded Sakura.

-"I talk to him however I want. Now shut up, monkey!"

-"Daddy mad!" Laughed Ruby.

-"Are you aunty Saku's boyfriend?" Asked Nadeshiko to Syaoran.

-"Ye-"

-"Nonsense. I've told you girls aunty Sakura is a nun and she's gonna stay that way." Said Touya to his daughters cutting off Syaoran's answer.

-"Am not!" Complained Sakura. "Girls, this is Syaoran Lee, we are dating."

-"Nice to meet you." Syaoran greeted them and the girls started jumping around him.

-"Aunty Saku's pretty, isn't she? She's really pretty. You think so too?" Asked Nadeshiko excited.

-"Are you guys gonna marry?" Asked Ruby dreamily.

-"Are you gonna have a baby?" Asked Nadeshiko. "We want a boy, daddy says boys are silly-willy."

-"No, I did n- Damn it! Where the hell did you hear that from?" Scolded Touya

-"Silly willy, silly willy!" Chanted the girls laughing at their dad. "We want a silly willy baby boy!"

-"There will be no baby-making! No marriage. Now stop." Told them Touya and the girls stopped, giggling at their father's fury.

-"Daddy is furious." Laughed Nadeshiko. "His nose is moving."

-"Daddy is being silly willy." Told them Sakura making her nieces laugh.

-"Don't. Do not encourage them!" Yelled Touya and then with a sigh he followed his kids inside the house. "I don't know where they get all this trash. Admittedly, some of it comes from me but this is too much."

-"Calm down, their minds aren't as degraded as yours is. They are just rhyming words, silly willy." Replied Sakura, enjoying her brother's pain.

-"Stop it! Why is there a man living with you?" Asked Touya following her little sister to the living room.

-"You girls want cookies? Uncle Syaoran just bought them for you." Teased Sakura. Syaoran, although still expecting the worst, was quite amused by the way the siblings got along. He had thought Sakura would be the bullied but it seemed to be the other way around.

-"Don't ignore me. I'm being serious, why are you living with a stranger?" Insisted Touya now following his sister to the kitchen while they both abandoned Syaoran with the kids.

-"Who said we are living together?" Replied Sakura while looking for the cookies.

-"You can't fool me. Is there a brain in that head of yours or is it all rainbows and shooting stars?" Protested Touya getting angrier by the minute.

-"I don't know my head but I sure as hell know there is a huge silly willy on your butt." Said Sakura just as mad as he was. "What do you care who I live with? You don't live with us so it shouldn't be an issue."

-"It worries me that someone with no dating skills can invite just any man to live with her." Raged on Touya.

-"If it's so painful for you to watch me be happy, then you can just stay away. You are so good at it anyways!" Yelled Sakura at him and she went to the livingroom where the girls kept on asking questions to their new toy, their aunt's boyfriend.

-"Aunty, he's so beautiful, can we really keep him?" Asked Nadeshiko as soon as she saw her aunt and dad coming back. "His eyes are sparkly." Sakura laughed at her boyfriend's embarassement.

-"He is quite a beauty, isn't he?" Teased Sakura putting the tray of cookies on the coffee table.

-"Where's Kero-chan?" Asked Ruby getting bored of playing with Syaoran's hands.

-"Kero-chan is asleep."

-"Let's go wake him up." Said little Ruby to Syaoran. "When you pull his tail, he jumps real high!"

-"I will tell you this now, I do not aprove." Said Touya recovering from the shock of being yelled at by his little sister.

-"You don't have to, I don't need your permission to date anyone." Replied Sakura sitting down next to Syaoran who didn't really know what to say.

-"How long have you known each other?" Asked Touya.

-"Long enough." Sakura answered evasively.

-"Which is...?" Insisted Touya now glaring at the man who had dared touch his precious baby sister.

-"A week." Answered Syaoran honestly. "Which if I was speaking of an ordinary woman, it would not be long enough but since it is Sakura we are speaking of..."

-"I don't like him." Continued Touya ignoring Syaoran's answer.

-"Daddy, that's why aunty's dating him and not daddy." Answered his elder daughter going for her third cookie. "I think he's sparkly."

-"I think you've had enough of these." Declared Touya taking away the tray of cookies.

-"Not cool, daddy! Give them back!" Complained Nadeshiko jumping up to reach the cookies.

-"Honestly, Touya. You're way too much." Scolded Sakura taking the cookies from him.

-"I'm too much? You are living with a man you met last week! Where did you meet? Do you even know where he's from? He looks like he's wanting a passport!" Raged on Touya.

-"You are horrible! I'll have you known that he has been approved by both Eriol and Tomoyo and if you wish to complain, well you can take it up with Eriol. He's the one who set us up in the first place and Syaoran is his cousin." Answered back Sakura. Meanwhile, in the small dinner near the old kids park, Eriol felt a shiver go up his spine.

-"Eriol." Repeated Touya like a curse.

-"Eriol was only trying to get Sakura to add him back on fb again, he never thought we would actually start dating. Much less, move in together." Said Syaoran that for some reason felt the need to save his cousin's sorry ass.

-"Well, that's true. Thought I don't mind if you want to yell at him for a while. Better him than me." Said Sakura heartlessly.

-"Unc' Eri 's funny. Right, daddy?" Asked Ruby drowsily as she climbed up the couch and sitted herself next to Syaoran.

-"Oh, yeah. He's _dead_ funny, sweety." Answered Touya distractedly. Sakura sighed as if the worst was over but Syaoran knew better. Touya's anger was obviously not appeased, meaning, not appeased at all. Little Ruby was now fast asleep on Syaoran's lap and her sister was heading the same way. She had already sitted herself on Sakura's lap and was grabbing Syaoran's arm. Sakura was too happy playing with her niece's long gray hair to notice how irritated her brother really was. Yet, Syaoran, had noticed; The look in Touya's face announced a painful retribution...

-"It's time to go. Shiko, Ruby, mom is waiting at home. Let's go." Their father woke them up.

-"Can we stay with aunt Saku, Daddy? Pweeease." Pleaded Nadeshiko.

-"Don't think acting cute is gonna work on me all the time. You are not staying." Touya answered cooly.

-"Please daddy!" Insisted Ruby.

-"I don't mind." Said Sakura.

-"But I do. I'm not leaving my kids with a stranger." Replied Touya.

-"Touya!" Yelled Sakura but Syaoran grabbed her hand. She look at her boyfriend who just smiled and shook his head. Touya might have been overprotecting during Sakura's highschool years but Syaoran knew that this once, his reaction was quite normal. If anything, Syaoran had expected worse and was a little worried about what was yet to come once Touya went out off shock and into demonic-big-brother mode.

They said their goodbyes. The kids cried and hugged them. Touya hugged his sister but only glared at Syaoran and next thing they knew they were alone once more.

-"I'm starving!" Complained Sakura, stealing one of Syaoran's cookies.

-"I thought you didn't like sweets." Syaoran mocked her.

-"I'm too hungry to care about health." Said Sakura popping another cookie into her mouth.

-"So much for our date." Sighed Syaoran.

-"Sorry about, you know... all the family stuff..."

-"Your nieces are really funny." Laughed Syaoran.

-"They like you way too much." Thought Sakura out loud.

-"What does that mean?" Syaoran asked, not liking the tone that his girlfriend had use.

-"You know..." Replied Sakura, evasively.

-"No, I don't"

-"It's not good if they get too attached to you..." Sighed Sakura.

-"Sakura, we have a year to figure it all out. If it's too hard..."

-"It's not too hard, it's just- It's ok for me to be sad when you'll be gone. I knew it was not forever since the beginning. It's another thing for them to be sad about it." Explained Sakura the best that she could. They both stayed silent for a while. It was too late to cook so they ate a frozen dinner and went to bed feeling exhausted. Once in their own room, it seemed all the exhaustion was gone, Sakura wanted to turn but didn't want Syaoran to know that she was still awake.

-"You can't sleep?" Asked Syaoran.

-"How did you know I was awake?" Complained Sakura.

-"I can hear you breathe. Beside, when you are asleep, you move more than when you are awake." Laughed Syaoran.

-"How come I never get to see you asleep?" Protested Sakura.

-"Cause since I moved in, I'm the one carrying you to bed or else I would sleep on my own." Reminded her Syaoran.

-"Sorry, It's a first, sharing a room... I've never had anyone waiting for me in bed before."

-"You know, it's a first for me too. I didn't really knew I wished for a roommate until I moved in with you and realized my roommate was so hard to catch." Joked Syaoran hugging her under the sheets. They kept talking and fell asleep in each others arms without realizing it...

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Something was moving in the dark, around the end of the bed. Syaoran heard a strange buzzing noise, he didn't have the slightest idea what it was but he realized now that what woke him up was Kero's hissing reaction to the noise. The cat was now trying to catch Sakura's moving feet. Syaoran felt heavy, he could feel Sakura's breathing on top of him, he smiled and kissed her nose making her complain still fast asleep. Then he was sorry he kissed her when she started moaning... He sighed, how was he suppose to sleep after that? He couldn't even move. The buzzing sound started once more and now he realized that someone was calling him on his cellphone. He reached for the phone on the nightstand, moving with difficulty under Sakura's weight, It was 2 a.m., It was Eriol.

-"What is wrong with you? Go to sleep." Whispered Syaoran picking up the phone.

-"You have to leave the country now. I'm sorry, I tried but he..." Whispered Eriol and there was a strange shuffling sound from his end of the line. "I have to go, listen just wathever you do, don't go with him... Is too late for me but you can still run! Get out now, he's on hi-" The call was disconnected.

-"What the hell, Eriol? You are sick..." Said Syaoran to his cellphone as the phone buzzed for the third time of the night thought this time it was an unknown caller. "Who calls at this hour?" Thought Syaoran feeling seriously annoyed, this better not be one of Eriol's brilliant jokes. "Hello?" He said picking up the phone.

-"Don't think you can run away from me. I will find you no matter where you hide so let's make this less painful for you, shall we?" Said a sinister voice on the other side.

-"Who is this?" Ask Syaoran feeling confused, the voice sounded oddly familiar.

-"You have some guts, I'll give you that but you'll need more than just guts. If you want your weakling cousin to live, you better come quietly. Tell her you have to leave for a week on a business trip, don't tell her about this call. I'll be closer than you think. Don't try anything foolish now and go back to sleep." The call disconnected.

_"Who the f...?" _Thought Syaoran trowing his cellphone near the cat. Kero hissed at him and ran out of the bedroom. Syaoran tried to go back to sleep but it was impossible, he was now doubting, could it be possible that this call...? Could the man over the phone be Sakura's older brother? Nah! Her brother didn't look like a psychopath. But there were those rumors that Syaoran had heard on the engagement party... Maybe he'd better just go with it, nobody had died in all of those rumors and maybe if he went, he would be cured from the crazy attraction he felt for Sakura... Maybe it was for their own good... There was also the fact that Eriol was being kept captive. Syaoran decided then and there that there was no point in wasting energy trying to escape, he'd better just go.

The next day he told Sakura about the impromptu business trip but by monday he thought maybe it had been all just a dream. Sakura left early, he was getting used to waking up with her even though he had to be at the office two hours later, at 8 o'clock. They ate breakfast together and Sakura was gone by 6:25 a.m. Syaoran took a look at her broken car, he wasn't too sure about what was wrong with it but if it came down to it, he would pay for the damn mechanic... They just couldn't go on like that, she needed a car and he needed more time with her. Next thing, they needed a larger bed... he had awoken on the floor one too many times. He took a shower and got ready for work, he would have to notify HR that he would be gone for a week and in the case it all had been a dream, he could just tell Sakura that the trip had been cancelled and then go with his life as usual or so he thought on his way to his office. Truth was, the day went on ordinarily enough, he tried looking for Eriol but got sidetracked by a call from his mother. She had heard of his week-long getaway, so she did have eyes and ears on him at the office... By noon, he started to relax, nothing had happened so far so he went to a nearby cafe, got his usual coffee and was on his way back when a pickup truck parked abruptly infront of him at a red light. Sakura's brother got out slamming his door, picked him up by the back of his coat and hauled him up inside the backside of the pickup and drove away towards uncertainty.

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TO BE CONTINUED...


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